stretch

stretch
{{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}}
noun
1 area of land or water
ADJECTIVE
great, huge, large, long, open, vast, wide

A great stretch of ocean lay beneath them.

15-mile, half-mile, etc.
narrow, short, small
straight

a straight stretch of road

continuous, unbroken
beautiful, lovely
deserted, empty, lonely

an empty stretch of beach

fast
dangerous, hazardous
coastal

a wild uninhabited coastal stretch

final

She felt a renewed burst of energy for the final stretch.

PREPOSITION
along a/the stretch

There are tailbacks along a ten-mile stretch of the road.

on a/the stretch

The festival is being held on a stretch of parkland near the river.

stretch of
PHRASES
the home stretch (esp. AmE)

The presidential race has now entered the home stretch. (figurative)

2 period of time
ADJECTIVE
long
short
final

The students have now entered the final stretch of their course.

three-year, two-week, etc.
rough, tough (both AmE)

He went through a tough stretch last year but things are better now.

PREPOSITION
stretch of

She had been unhappy for long stretches of her life.

PHRASES
at a stretch

He worked for three days and nights at a stretch.

3 stretching
ADJECTIVE
good
gentle
VERB + STRETCH
do

First let's warm up by doing some stretches.

have

Have a good stretch from time to time to prevent yourself getting stiff.

hold

Hold the stretch for a count of ten.

PHRASES
at full stretch

Her arms were at full stretch.

{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}
verb
1 pull sth tight
ADVERB
taut, tautly (AmE), tight, tightly

Make sure that the rope is stretched tight.

Stretch the fabric tightly over the frame.

PREPOSITION
across, between, over

Striped awnings had been stretched across the courtyard.

2 your body/part of the body
ADVERB
gently
lazily, luxuriously

He stirred and stretched lazily.

full-length

Andrea turned out the light and stretched full-length on the bed.

down, forward, out, up, upwards/upward

She stretched up to reach the top shelf.

PREPOSITION
on

He stretched out on the couch and watched TV.

PHRASES
stretch and yawn, yawn and stretch

She sat up, yawning and stretching.

3 cover a large area
ADVERB
far

The wood does not stretch very far.

endlessly, forever

The fields stretched forever into the distance.

ahead, away

The road stretched ahead.

VERB + STRETCH
seem to

The beach seemed to stretch endlessly.

PREPOSITION
along
beyond
from, to

an area which stretches from London to the north

for

The beach stretches for five miles.

into

A line of cars stretched into the distance.

4 continue over a period of time
ADVERB
endlessly

The future stretched out endlessly in front of me.

back, out

The town's history stretches back to before 1700.

PREPOSITION
before

Endless summer days stretched out before us.

into

The talks look set to stretch into a second week.

5 your ability/intelligence
ADVERB
really
severely

The increase in demand has severely stretched our resources.

fully

We can't take on any more work—we're fully stretched as it is.

thin, thinly

Don't stretch yourself too thin financially.

Our forces are too thinly stretched to control the chaos.

financially (esp. BrE)

Both parties have financially stretched themselves by taking on substantial mortgages.

PREPOSITION
to

This department is stretched to its limit.

Stretch is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑beach, ↑coast, ↑coastline, ↑desert, ↑district, ↑forest, ↑horizon, ↑mouth, ↑muscle, ↑queue, ↑road, ↑silence
Stretch is used with these nouns as the object: ↑back, ↑budget, ↑credulity, ↑definition, ↑finance, ↑finger, ↑imagination, ↑leg, ↑limb, ↑limit, ↑mile, ↑mind, ↑muscle, ↑nerve, ↑patience, ↑resource, ↑truth, ↑wing, ↑wire

Collocations dictionary. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • stretch — [stretʆ] verb 1. [transitive] FINANCE if something stretches an amount of money or a supply of something, it uses it up so you have hardly enough for your needs: • Our finances are stretched to the limit. 2. [intransitive, transitive] FINAN …   Financial and business terms

  • stretch — [ strɛtʃ ] n. m. • 1963; n. déposé , mot angl., de to stretch « allonger, étendre » ♦ Anglic. Techn. Procédé de traitement des tissus les rendant élastiques dans le sens horizontal. ♢ Par ext. Le tissu ainsi traité. Du stretch. Des stretchs. Par… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Stretch — Stretch, n. 1. Act of stretching, or state of being stretched; reach; effort; struggle; strain; as, a stretch of the limbs; a stretch of the imagination. [1913 Webster] By stretch of arms the distant shore to gain. Dryden. [1913 Webster] Those… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stretch — can refer to: *Stretching is a form of exercise or a pre exercise discipline, sometimes called Warming up *Stretch ceiling, a type of ceiling made from polymer. *Stretch ratio in the mechanics of materials *Stretched tuning of certain string… …   Wikipedia

  • stretch — ► VERB 1) (of something soft or elastic) be made or be able to be made longer or wider without tearing or breaking. 2) pull (something) tightly from one point to another. 3) extend one s body or a part of one s body to its full length. 4) last… …   English terms dictionary

  • stretch — [strech] vt. [ME strecchen < OE streccan, akin to Ger strecken < IE * sterg < base * (s)ter , to be stiff, rigid > STARE] 1. to hold out or reach out; extend [to stretch out a helping hand] 2. to cause (the body or limbs) to reach out …   English World dictionary

  • Stretch — Stretch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Stretched}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Stretching}.] [OE. strecchen, AS. streccan; akin to D. strekken, G. strecken, OHG. strecchen, Sw. str[ a]cka, Dan. str[ae]kke; cf. AS. str[ae]ck, strec, strong, violent, G. strack… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Stretch — 〈[ strɛ̣tʃ] m.; ; unz.〉 elastische Wirkware (BaumwollStretch, NylonStretch) [zu engl. stretch „dehnen“ <aengl. steccan; verwandt mit strecken] * * * Stretch [strɛt̮ʃ], der; [e]s, es [ strɛt̮ʃɪs] [zu engl. to stretch = dehnen]: sehr elastisches …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Stretch — (engl. für „Strecke“, „Zeitraum“ aber auch „Ausdehnung“) steht für: Stretch (Unternehmen), ein US amerikanischer Halbleiterhersteller mit Niederlassungen in Japan und Deutschland Stretch (Band), eine britische Bluesrock Band, 1973 78 Ein… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • stretch — stretch; stretch·abil·i·ty; stretch·able; stretch·berry; stretch·er; un·stretch; …   English syllables

  • Stretch — Stretch, v. i. 1. To be extended; to be drawn out in length or in breadth, or both; to spread; to reach; as, the iron road stretches across the continent; the lake stretches over fifty square miles. [1913 Webster] As far as stretcheth any ground …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”