Added 9 October 2026
stretch
/stɹɛt͡ʃ/ verb
In Latin: tendo, extendo Wiktionary
verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about stretch at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
noun
-
An act of stretching.
I was right in the middle of a stretch when the phone rang.
-
The ability to lengthen when pulled.
That rubber band has quite a bit of stretch.
-
A course of thought which diverts from straightforward logic, or requires extraordinary belief or exaggeration.
It's a bit of a stretch to call Boris Karloff a comedian.
Origin
From Middle English strecchen, from Old English streċċan (“to stretch, hold out, extend, spread out, prostrate”), from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan (“to stretch, make taut or tight”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)treg-, *streg-, *treg- (“stiff, rigid”). Cognate with West Frisian strekke, Dutch strekken (“to stretch, straighten”), German strecken (“to stretch, straighten, elongate”), Danish strække (“to stretch”), Swedish sträcka (“to stretch”), Dutch strak (“taut, tight”), Albanian shtriqem (“to stretch”). More at stark.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)