"stretching" in the noun sense
1. stretching
act of expanding by lengthening or widening
2. stretch, stretching
exercise designed to extend the limbs and muscles to their full extent
"stretching" in the verb sense
1. stretch, stretch along
occupy a large, elongated area
"The park stretched beneath the train line"
2. stretch, extend
extend one's limbs or muscles, or the entire body
"Stretch your legs!"
"Extend your right arm above your head"
3. unfold, stretch, stretch out, extend
extend or stretch out to a greater or the full length
"Unfold the newspaper"
"stretch out that piece of cloth"
"extend the TV antenna"
4. stretch
become longer by being stretched and pulled
"The fabric stretches"
5. elongate, stretch
make long or longer by pulling and stretching
"stretch the fabric"
6. stretch, stretch out
lie down comfortably
"To enjoy the picnic, we stretched out on the grass"
7. stretch
pull in opposite directions
"During the Inquisition, the torturers would stretch their victims on a rack"
8. stretch
extend the scope or meaning of often unduly
"Stretch the limits"
"stretch my patience"
"stretch the imagination"
9. load, adulterate, stretch, dilute, debase
corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance often by replacing valuable ingredients with inferior ones
"adulterate liquor"
10. extend, stretch
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"
11. stretch, stretch out
extend one's body or limbs
"Let's stretch for a minute
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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