outstretch
outstretch Lexical Profile
outstretch Game Scores & Validity
• verb
To extend or stretch out to full length (especially of a limb, wing, or body).
"The conductor began to outstretch his arms to signal the orchestra's entrance."
To stretch or extend beyond the limits, reach, or capacity of something.
"Rapid urban growth threatened to outstretch the municipality's existing water supply."
• noun
An act or instance of stretching out or extending something, or the reach achieved by doing so.
"The goalkeeper deflected the ball at the full outstretch of his fingertips."
Word Nuance & Usage
In modern English, the finite verb forms ('outstretch', 'outstretches') are relatively rare in everyday speech; the word is most frequently encountered in its participial adjective form, 'outstretched' (as in 'with outstretched arms').
• Rhymes for outstretch
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in Middle English as a compound of the prefix 'out-' (from Old English 'ūt', meaning outward) and the verb 'stretch' (from Old English 'streccan', meaning to spread out or prostrate).