spread out

Meanings

1. 1adjectivenot comparable

   Arranged with individual parts or members far apart from each other over an area.

   Grammar: Used after linking verbs like be, get, or seem, not before a noun: The houses are spread out, not spread-out houses (though the hyphenated form can appear before a noun).

   Patterns

   • be spread out
   • get spread out
   • spread out over something

   The village is very spread out, with houses scattered along the valley.

   The students were spread out across the field, working in small groups.

   From the plane, the city looked spread out below us.

2. 2adjectivenot comparable

   Arranged so that events happen at long intervals rather than close together.

   Grammar: Often followed by over + a period: spread out over three weeks.

   Patterns

   • be spread out over something
   • spread out across something

   The exams are spread out over two weeks, so there is time to study between them.

   Payments are spread out across the year to make them easier to manage.

Common combinations

spread out over a wide area

The farms are spread out over a wide area.

spread out evenly

Make sure the seeds are spread out evenly.

spread out over time

The training is spread out over time to avoid overload.

get spread out

The runners got spread out along the course.

Synonyms and how they differ

scattered

Scattered suggests things thrown or placed here and there without a pattern; spread out often suggests a deliberate or natural arrangement over an area.

dispersed

Dispersed is more formal and often used for people or particles that have moved apart from a group.

Opposites

Word family

spread verb

To open something out or move things apart.

Commonly confused: spread out or spread?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “spread out”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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