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Synonyms & antonyms

span Synonyms & Antonyms

/spæn/

What Is Another Word for Span?

Other words for span include blandish, dress up and gild.

Choose a meaning, then find a word that fits your sentence.

Span as a Noun

1

The full width of an open hand, from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger, used as an informal unit of length.

2

Any of various traditional units of length approximating this distance; especially: The English handspan, equivalent to 9 inches or 22.86 cm.

3

The English handspan, equivalent to 9 inches or 22.86 cm.

4

A small space or a brief moment of time.

attention span

5

A segment or portion of space or time; a subsequence. The time required to execute a parallel algorithm on an infinite number of processors.

6

The time required to execute a parallel algorithm on an infinite number of processors.

7

The spread or extent of an arch or between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between supports.

8

The length of a cable, wire, rope, chain between two consecutive supports.

9

A rope having its ends made fast so that a purchase can be hooked to the bight; also, a rope made fast in the center so that both ends can be used.

10

A pair of horses or other animals driven or sold together; usually, such a pair of horses usually being similar in color, form, and action.

11

Ellipsis of linear span: a linear subspace generated by all linear combinations of a given subset of vectors of a given vector space.

12

Clipping of wingspan.

13

The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; an eighth of a fathom.

14

(by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time.

He has a short attention span and gets bored within minutes.

15

A portion of something by length; a subsequence.

16

A pair of horses or other animals driven together; usually, such a pair of horses when similar in color, form, and action.

17

The space of all linear combinations of something.

18

The time required to execute a parallel algorithm on an infinite number of processors, i.e. the shortest distance across a directed acyclic graph representing the computation steps.

Span as a Verb

1

To extend across (a gap or space between two sides).

The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.

2

To cover or extend over (an area or distance).

The parking lot spans three acres.

3

To extend through (a period of time).

The novel spans three centuries.

4

To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.

to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder

5

To generate a linear span.

6

To be matched.

7

To fetter; to hobble.

8

simple past of spin

9

To extend through the distance between or across.

The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.

10

To extend through (a time period).

The novel spans three centuries.

11

To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.

12

To be matched, as horses.

13

To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.

14

To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.

I spun myself around a few times.

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15

To make yarn by twisting and winding fibers together.

They spin the cotton into thread.

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16

To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant, so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.

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17

(of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways when it bounces on the pitch.

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18

(of a ball) To move sideways when bouncing.

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19

To form into thin strips or ribbons, as with sugar

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20

To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, etc.) from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens on coming into contact with the air; said of the spider, the silkworm, etc.

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21

To shape, as malleable sheet metal, into a hollow form, by bending or buckling it by pressing against it with a smooth hand tool or roller while the metal revolves, as in a lathe.

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22

To move swiftly.

to spin along the road in a carriage, on a bicycle, etc.

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23

To stream or issue in a thread or a small current or jet.

Blood spins from a vein.

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24

To wait in a loop until some condition becomes true.

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25

To play (vinyl records, etc.) as a disc jockey.

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26

To use an exercise bicycle, especially as part of a gym class.

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27

An abnormal condition in journal bearings where the bearing seizes to the shaft that is rotating and rotates inside the journal, destroying both the shaft and the journal.

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Span in a Sentence

attention span

He has a short attention span and gets bored within minutes.

The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.

The parking lot spans three acres.

The forest spans the entire valley.

The novel spans three centuries.

His career spanned five decades.

to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder

I spun myself around a few times.

They spin the cotton into thread.

to spin along the road in a carriage, on a bicycle, etc.

Blood spins from a vein.

Word Forms & Grammar

span (plural spans)

span (third-person singular simple present spans, present participle spanning, simple past and past participle spanned)

span

Words That Rhyme With Span

Origin of Span

Origin 1: From Middle English spanne, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spannō (“span, handbreadth”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pend- (“to stretch”).[1]

Origin 2: Cognate with Dutch span, spanne, German Spanne. Etymology 1, noun sense 8 is probably from Old English ġespan, ġespann (“a joining; a fastening together; clasp; yoke”), from Proto-West Germanic. Cognate with Dutch gespan and German Gespann.

Origin 3: From Middle English spannen, from Old English spannan, from Proto-Germanic *spannaną (“to stretch, span”). Cognate with German spannen, Dutch spannen.

Origin 4: From Middle English span, from Old English spann, from Proto-Germanic *spann, first and third person singular preterit indicative of Proto-Germanic *spinnaną (“to spin”).

Word Facts for Span

Part of speechnoun, verb
Pronunciation//spæn//
Syllables1
MeaningThe full width of an open hand, from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger, used as an…
Synonymsblandish, dress up and gild
Pluralspans
Verb formsspans, spanning, spanned

Span Pronunciation

Span is pronounced //spæn// and has 1 syllable.

Common Questions About Span

Is span a noun or a verb?

Span is mainly used as a noun, but it can also be used as a verb.

What is the plural of span?

The plural of span is spans.

What is the past tense of span?

The past tense of span is spanned. The present participle is spanning.

More About Span On Meaning Stash

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