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To fetch a long, deep breath; to sigh; to breathe. Shak. Fireflies that suspire In short, soft lapses of transported flame. Mrs. Browning.

A small frame, commonly circular, and somewhat resembling a tambourine, used for stretching, and firmly holding, a portion of cloth that is to be embroidered; also, the embroidery done upon such a frame; -- called also, in the latter sense, tambour work.

over his head hung branches laden with choice fruit which likewise receded whenever he stretched out his hand to grasp them.

Tight; stretched; not slack; -- said esp. of a rope that is tightly strained.

A contrivence used in a loom for keeping the web stretched transversely.

Stretched tightly; strained to stiffness; rigid; not lax; as, a tense fiber. The temples were sunk, her forehead was tense, and a fatal paleness was upon her. Goldsmith. -- Tense"ly, adv. -- Tense"ness, n.

The act of stretching or straining; the state of being stretched or strained to stiffness; the state of being bent strained; as, the tension of the muscles, tension of the larynx.

A muscle that stretches a part, or renders it tense.

A pavilion or portable lodge consisting of skins, canvas, or some strong cloth, stretched and sustained by poles, -- used for sheltering persons from the weather, especially soldiers in camp. Within his tent, large as is a barn. Chaucer.

A machine or frame for stretching cloth by means of hooks, called tenter-hooks, so that it may dry even and square. Tenter ground, a place where tenters are erected. -- Tenter-hook, a sharp, hooked nail used for fastening cloth on a tenter. -- To be on the tenters, or on the tenter-hooks, to be on the stretch; to be…

Stiff; stretched; strained. [Obs.] Johnson.

Not slack or loose; firmly stretched; taut; -- applied to a rope, chain, or the like, extended or stretched out.

A vetch; a tare. [Prov. Eng.]

na's arbor smiled. Milton. I'll to him again, . . . He'll tell me all his purpose. She stretched her arms to heaven. Dryden.

A romping girl; a hoiden. [Colloq.] J. Fletcher.

Stretched tight; taut. [R.] Yet holds he them with tortestrein. Emerson.

To keep on the stretch, as a bow. [Obs.] The bow tortureth the string. Bacon.

Ohe who tosser. J. Fletcher.

hat stood in great prosperitee And is yfallen out of high degree Into misery and endeth wretchedly. Chaucer. All our tragedies are of kings and princes. Jer. Taylor. tragedy is poetry in its deepest earnest; comedy is poetry in unlimited jest. Coleridge.

To cause to lose senses or recollection; to entrance. [Obs.] J. Fletcher.