Search the Dictionary

To press or knead the whole surface of the body of (a person), and at the same time to stretch the limbs and joints, in connection with the hot bath.

stance; a short piece of timber; a short flight. The bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it. Isa. xxviii. 20.

To knit together, or make strong with, or as with, sinews. Shak. Wretches, now stuck up for long tortures . . . might, if properly treated, serve to sinew the state in time of danger. Goldsmith.

An abject person; a wretch. Shak. Slave ant (Zoöl.), any species of ants which is captured and enslaved by another species, especially Formica fusca of Europe and America, which is commonly enslaved by Formica sanguinea. -- Slave catcher, one who attempted to catch and bring back a fugitive slave to his master. -- Sl…

and unworthy of notice; to make light of; as, to slight the divine commands. Milton. The wretch who slights the bounty of the skies. Cowper. To slight off, to treat slightingly; to drive off; to remove. [R.] -- To slight over, to run over in haste; to perform superficially; to treat carelessly; as, to slight over a the…

A mean, dirty wretch. [Low]

The gut or string stretched across the lower head of a drum.

frame of wood three or four feet long and about one third as wide, with thongs or cords stretched across it, and having a support and holder for the foot; -- used by persons for walking on soft snow.

s of cords, and ascertaining the relations between musical notes. It consists of a cord stretched by weight along a box, and divided into different lengths at pleasure by a bridge, the place of which is determined by a scale on the face of the box.

Extending far and wide; vast in extent. "A spacious plain outstretched in circuit wide." Milton.

To reach from one side of to the order; to stretch over as an arch. The rivers were spanned by arches of solid masonry. prescott.

alent, to enrich your whole capital as a man. It is in this way that you escape from the wretched narrow- mindedness which is the characteristic of every one who cultivates his speciality. Ld. Lytton. We 'll say, instead, the inconsequent creature man, -For that'a his speciality. Mrs. Browning. Think of this, sir, . .…

A wide mouth; a mouth stretched in derision. Dryden.

gament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation; as, to sprain one's ankle.

To spread and stretch the body or limbs carelessly in a horizontal position; to lie with the limbs stretched out ungracefully.

To extend in length and breadth, or in breadth only; to stretch or expand to a broad or broader surface or extent; to open; to unfurl; as, to spread a carpet; to spread a tent or a sail. He bought a parcel of a field where he had spread his tent. Gen. xxxiii. 19. Here the Rhone Hath spread himself a couch. Byron.…

One who keeps a constant watch of the conduct of others. "These wretched spies of wit." Dryden.

tand to. (a) To ply; to urge; to persevere in using. "Stand to your tackles, mates, and stretch your oars." Dryden. (b) To remain fixed in a purpose or opinion. "I will stand to it, that this is his sense." Bp. Stillingfleet. (c) To abide by; to adhere to; as to a contrast, assertion, promise, etc.; as, to stand to an…

To escape or stretch beyond proper limits, as the branches of a plant; to spread widely apart; to shoot too far or widely in growth. Trim off the small, superfluous branches on each side of the hedge that straggle too far out. Mortimer.

To draw with force; to extend with great effort; to stretch; as, to strain a rope; to strain the shrouds of a ship; to strain the cords of a musical instrument. "To strain his fetters with a stricter care." Dryden.