Meaning & use
spreading thin
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Meanings
phraseidiom
Making something cover a larger area or be shared among more people, so it becomes less concentrated or less effective.
Grammar: Often followed by an object: spreading the butter thin, spreading resources thin. Also used without an object: the paint is spreading thin.
Patterns
- spread something thin
- spreading thin across something
The jam was spreading thin on the toast because there was so little left.
With only ten teachers for five hundred students, the school's resources are spreading thin.
The company's attention is spreading thin across too many new markets.
phraseidiomfigurative
Becoming less believable or less convincing because it is used too often or stretched too far.
Grammar: Often used with excuses, arguments, or jokes: the excuse is spreading thin.
Patterns
- spreading thin
- the excuse is spreading thin
His excuse for being late every day is spreading thin.
The joke was funny at first, but now it's spreading thin.
Common combinations
- spread the butter thin
- She spread the butter thin so it would last the whole week.
- spread resources thin
- The charity spread its resources thin across several countries.
- spread yourself thin
- Don't spread yourself thin by volunteering for everything.
- spreading thin
- The paint was spreading thin near the edges of the wall.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dilute
- Dilute means to make a liquid weaker by adding water or another liquid; spreading thin is about distribution over an area or among people.
- stretch
- Stretch often means to make something last longer or cover more than usual; spreading thin emphasizes the resulting lack of concentration.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: spreading thin or spreading myself too thin?
spreading thin vs spreading myself too thin
That longer idiom is only about a person taking on too much; spreading thin can be about any substance, resource, or idea.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'spreading thin' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Spreading thin' means becoming less concentrated because it is shared among too many things, so too many projects fits. The other options describe situations that would not cause a loss of concentration.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spreading thin”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.