stretch

views updated May 18 2018

stretch / strech/ • v. [intr.] 1. (of something soft or elastic) be made or be capable of being made longer or wider without tearing or breaking: my sweater stretched in the wash rubber will stretch easily when pulled. ∎  [tr.] cause to do this: stretch the elastic. ∎  [tr.] pull (something) tightly from one point to another or across a space: small squares of canvas were stretched over the bamboo frame. ∎  last or cause to last longer than expected: [intr.] her nap had stretched to two hours | [tr.] stretch your weekend into a mini summer vacation. ∎  [tr.] make great demands on the capacity or resources of: the cost of the court case has stretched their finances to the limit. ∎  [tr.] cause (someone) to make maximum use of their talents or abilities: it's too easy—it doesn't stretch me. ∎  [tr.] adapt or extend the scope of (something) in a way that exceeds a reasonable or acceptable limit: to describe her as sweet would be stretching it a bit.2. straighten or extend one's body or a part of one's body to its full length, typically so as to tighten one's muscles or in order to reach something: the cat yawned and stretched| [tr.] stretching my cramped legs we lay stretched out on the sand.3. [intr.] extend or spread over an area or period of time: the beach stretches for over four miles the long hours of night stretched ahead of her.• n. 1. an act of stretching one's limbs or body: I got up and had a stretch. ∎  the fact or condition of a muscle being stretched: she could feel the stretch and pull of the muscles in her legs. ∎  Baseball a phase of a pitcher’s delivery, during which the arms are raised above and behind the head. ∎  Baseball a shortened form of a pitcher’s windup, typically used to prevent base runners from stealing or gaining a long lead. ∎  [usu. as adj.] the capacity of a material or garment to stretch or be stretched; elasticity: stretch jeans. ∎  a difficult or demanding task: it was a stretch for me sometimes to come up with the rent.2. a continuous area or expanse of land or water: a treacherous stretch of road. ∎  a continuous period of time: long stretches of time. ∎ inf. a period of time spent in prison: a four-year stretch for tax fraud. ∎  a straight part of a racetrack, typically the homestretch: he made a promising start, but faded down the stretch. ∎  Sailing the distance covered on one tack.3. [usu. as adj.] inf. a motor vehicle or aircraft modified so as to have extended seating or storage capacity: a black stretch limo.PHRASES: at a stretch in one continuous period: I often had to work for over twenty hours at a stretch.by no (or not by any) stretch of the imagination used to emphasize that something is definitely not the case: by no stretch of the imagination could Carl ever be called good-looking.stretch one's legs go for a short walk, typically after sitting in one place for some time.stretch one's wingssee wing.DERIVATIVES: stretch·a·bil·i·ty / -əˈbilitē/ n.stretch·a·ble adj.

Stretch

views updated May 14 2018

Stretch A monster computer chartered by the US Government and built in the late 1950s by IBM as their IBM 7030; it was designed to “stretch the technique of computer building to its limits.” It had a pipelined instruction unit with address lookahead, and a 64-bit word length with double precision arithmetic if required. Addressing was down to the bit over a two-million word memory. It was capable of variable word length working and, in fact, almost anything that could be expected of hardware. A limited number of 7030s were built for atomic energy and similar research establishments.

stretch

views updated Jun 11 2018

stretch everyone stretches his legs according to the length of his coverlet proverbial saying, late 13th century; meaning that it is natural to live as comfortably as your resources permit.
stretch your arm no further than your sleeve will reach proverbial saying, mid 16th century; meaning that you should not spend more than you can afford (compare cut your coat according to your cloth).

stretch

views updated May 18 2018

stretch lay at full length; extend OE.; tighten, lengthen, widen by force XIV. OE. streċċan = MLG., MDu. strecken (Du. strekken), OHG. strecchan (G. strecken) :- WGmc. *strakkjan, of uncert. orig.
Hence stretch sb. extension XVI; extent of time or space XVII.

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