stretch

occupy a large, elongated area

• “The park stretched beneath the train line”

extend one''s limbs or muscles, or the entire body

• “Stretch your legs!”
• “Extend your right arm above your head”

extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length

• “Unfold the newspaper”
• “stretch out that piece of cloth”
• “extend the TV antenna”

become longer by being stretched and pulled

• “The fabric stretches”

make long or longer by pulling and stretching

• “stretch the fabric”

lie down comfortably

• “To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out on the grass”

pull in opposite directions

• “During the Inquisition, the torturers would stretch their victims on a rack”

extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly

• “Stretch the limits”
• “stretch my patience”
• “stretch the imagination”

corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance; often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones

• “adulterate liquor”

increase in quantity or bulk by adding a cheaper substance

• “stretch the soup by adding some more cream”
• “extend the casserole with a little rice”

extend one''s body or limbs

• “Let”
• “ve been sitting here for over 3 hours”

a large and unbroken expanse or distance

• “a stretch of highway”
• “a stretch of clear water”

the act of physically reaching or thrusting out

a straightaway section of a racetrack

exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent

extension to or beyond the ordinary limit

• “running at full stretch”
• “by no stretch of the imagination”
• “beyond any stretch of his understanding”

an unbroken period of time during which you do something

• “there were stretches of boredom”
• “he did a stretch in the federal penitentiary”

the capacity for being stretched

having an elongated seating area

• “a stretch limousine”

easily stretched

• “stretch hosiery”