span
From WikiWord, the free dictionary
/spæn/
English
Definitions
noun
- The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; an eighth of a fathom.
- (by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time.“He has a short attention span and gets bored within minutes.”
- A portion of something by length; a subsequence.
- The spread or extent of an arch or between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between supports.
verb
- To extend through the distance between or across.“The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.”
- To extend through (a time period).“The novel spans three centuries.”
- To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.“to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder”
- To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.
verb
- To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.“I spun myself around a few times.”
- To make yarn by twisting and winding fibers together.“They spin the cotton into thread.”
- To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant, so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.
- (of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways when it bounces on the pitch.
Related words
Synonyms
blandishdress upgildput lipstick onsugarcoatwhitewashbracesweepstraddleyoketwainduadtwosomedyadbridgecouplepairtraverse