span

[ span ]

/ spæn /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR span ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended.

a unit of length corresponding to this distance, commonly taken as 9 inches (23 cm).

a distance, amount, piece, etc., of this length or of some small extent: a span of lace.

Civil Engineering, Architecture.

the distance between two supports of a structure.
the structure so supported.
the distance or space between two supports of a bridge.

the full extent, stretch, or reach of anything: a long span of memory.

Aeronautics. the distance between the wing tips of an airplane.

a limited space of time, as the term or period of living: Our span on earth is short.

Mathematics. the smallest subspace of a vector space that contains a given element or set of elements.

verb (used with object), spanned, span·ning.

to measure by the hand with the thumb and little finger extended.

to encircle with the hand or hands, as the waist.

to extend over or across (a section of land, a river, etc.).

to provide with something that extends over: to span a river with a bridge.

to extend or reach over (space or time): a memory that spans 90 years.

Mathematics. to function (in a subspace of a vector space) as a span.

Archery. to bend (the bow) in preparation for shooting.

Origin of span

before 900; (noun) Middle English spanne, sponne, spayn, Old English span(n), spon(n); cognate with German Spanne, Dutch span, Old Norse spǫnn; (v.) Middle English spaynen, derivative of the noun

Words nearby span

spalpeen, spam, spambot, spammie, spamming, span, span loading, span of apprehension, span of attention, span roof, span saw

Definition for span (2 of 5)

span ²

[ span ]

/ spæn /

noun

a pair of horses or other animals harnessed and driven together.

Origin of span

1760–70, Americanism; < Dutch: team (of oxen, horses)

SYNONYMS FOR span

team. See pair.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR span ON THESAURUS.COM

Definition for span (3 of 5)

span ³

[ span ]

/ spæn /

verb Archaic.

a simple past tense of spin.

Definition for span (4 of 5)

spin

[ spin ]

/ spɪn /

verb (used with object), spun or (Archaic) span, spun, spin·ning.

to make (yarn) by drawing out, twisting, and winding fibers: Pioneer women spun yarn on spinning wheels.

to form (the fibers of any material) into thread or yarn: The machine spins nylon thread.

(of spiders, silkworms, etc.) to produce (a thread, cobweb, gossamer, silk, etc.) by extruding from the body a long, slender filament of a natural viscous matter that hardens in the air.

to cause to turn around rapidly, as on an axis; twirl; whirl: to spin a coin on a table.

Informal. to play (phonograph records): a job spinning records on a radio show.

Metalworking. to shape (sheet metal) into a hollow, rounded form by pressure from a tool while rotating the metal on a lathe or wheel.

to produce, fabricate, or evolve in a manner suggestive of spinning thread: to spin a tale of sailing ships and bygone days.

Rocketry. to cause intentionally (a rocket or guided missile) to undergo a roll.

to draw out, protract, or prolong (often followed by out): He spun the project out for over three years.

British. to flunk a student in an examination or a term's work.

Slang. to cause to have a particular bias; influence in a certain direction: His assignment was to spin the reporters after the president's speech.

verb (used without object), spun or (Archaic) span, spun, spin·ning.

to revolve or rotate rapidly, as the earth or a top.

to produce a thread from the body, as spiders or silkworms.

to produce yarn or thread by spinning.

to move, go, run, ride, or travel rapidly.

to have a sensation of whirling; reel: My head began to spin and I fainted.

to fish with a spinning or revolving bait.

noun

the act of causing a spinning or whirling motion.

a spinning motion given to a ball, wheel, axle, or other object.

a downward movement or trend, especially one that is sudden, alarming, etc.: Steel prices went into a spin.

a rapid run, ride, drive, or the like, as for exercise or enjoyment: They went for a spin in the car.

Slang. a particular viewpoint or bias, especially in the media; slant: They tried to put a favorable spin on the news coverage of the controversial speech.

Also called tailspin, tail spin. Aeronautics. a maneuver in which an airplane descends in a vertical direction along a helical path of large pitch and small radius at an angle of attack greater than the critical angle, dangerous when not done intentionally or under control.

Rocketry.

the act of intentionally causing a rocket or guided missile to undergo a roll.
a roll so caused.

Also called spin angular momentum. Physics. the intrinsic angular momentum characterizing each kind of elementary particle, having one of the values 0, 1/2, 1/3, … when measured in units of Planck's constant divided by 2π.

Australian. a run of luck; fate.

Verb Phrases

spin off,

to create something new, as a company or assets, without detracting from or affecting the relative size or stability of the original: After the acquisition, the company was required to spin off about a third of its assets.
to derive from or base on something done previously: They took the character of the maid and spun off another TV series.

Origin of spin

before 900; Middle English spinnen to spin yarn, Old English spinnan; cognate with Dutch, German spinnen, Old Norse spinna, Gothic spinnan

SYNONYMS FOR spin

7 develop, narrate, relate.

9 extend, lengthen.

12 gyrate. See turn.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR spin ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM spin

spin·na·bil·i·ty, noun spin·na·ble, adjective out·spin, verb (used with object), out·spun, out·spin·ning. un·spin·na·ble, adjective

Definition for span (5 of 5)

Span.

Spaniard.

Spanish.

Example sentences from the Web for span

Five times during that span, the majority of species on the planet vanished in a short interval of time.

Heed the Warnings: Why We’re on the Brink of Mass Extinction |Sean B. Carroll |November 30, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In battle, it means the ability to shift from suicide bombers to tank columns and maneuver warfare in the span of a day.

Has ISIS Peaked as a Military Power? |Jacob Siegel |October 22, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Typically, new equipment is developed in the span of two or three years.

Font of Invention | |September 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
And when a comedy produces 238 episodes over the span of 10 years, some of them are bound to be weird.

15 Times ‘Friends’ Was Really, Really Weird |Kevin Fallon |September 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Ten bridges were closed; the span linking Oakland to the City didn't reopen for more than a month.

San Fran Kisses Its 70,000-Person Toilet Goodbye |Jon Rochmis |August 15, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
So they went in to where Gudruda sat spinning in the hall, singing as she span.

Eric Brighteyes |H. Rider Haggard
The mantle, in English, is enclosed between two nut-shells; in German, the bag from which it is taken is hardly a span wide.

The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Volume I of 5) |Various
"Everything orderly and sanitary and spick and span—not a blade of grass out of place," was Polly's comment.

The Turtles of Tasman |Jack London
Span of horses, two horses as nearly as possible alike, harnessed side by side.

The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 |Various
In the Winchester span the floor system was of timber for reasons of economy.

Smithsonian Institution - United States National Museum - Bulletin 240 |Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for span (1 of 5)

span ¹

/ (spæn) /

noun

the interval, space, or distance between two points, such as the ends of a bridge or arch

the complete duration or extent the span of his life

psychol the amount of material that can be processed in a single mental act apprehension span; span of attention

short for wingspan

a unit of length based on the width of an expanded hand, usually taken as nine inches

verb spans, spanning or spanned (tr)

to stretch or extend across, over, or around

to provide with something that extends across or around to span a river with a bridge

to measure or cover, esp with the extended hand

Word Origin for span

Old English spann; related to Old Norse sponn, Old High German spanna

British Dictionary definitions for span (2 of 5)

span ²

/ (spæn) /

noun

a team of horses or oxen, esp two matched animals

Word Origin for span

C16 (in the sense: yoke): from Middle Dutch: something stretched, from spannen to stretch; see span 1

British Dictionary definitions for span (3 of 5)

span ³

/ (spæn) /

verb

archaic, or dialect a past tense of spin

British Dictionary definitions for span (4 of 5)

Span.

abbreviation for

Spanish

British Dictionary definitions for span (5 of 5)

spin

/ (spɪn) /

verb spins, spinning or spun

to rotate or cause to rotate rapidly, as on an axis

to draw out and twist (natural fibres, as of silk or cotton) into a long continuous thread
to make such a thread or filament from (synthetic resins, etc), usually by forcing through a nozzle

(of spiders, silkworms, etc) to form (webs, cocoons, etc) from a silky fibre exuded from the body

(tr) to shape (metal) into a rounded form on a lathe

(tr) informal to tell (a tale, story, etc) by drawing it out at great length (esp in the phrase spin a yarn)

to bowl, pitch, hit, or kick (a ball) so that it rotates in the air and changes direction or speed on bouncing, or (of a ball) to be projected in this way

(intr) (of wheels) to revolve rapidly without causing propulsion

to cause (an aircraft) to dive in a spiral descent or (of an aircraft) to dive in a spiral descent

(intr foll by along) to drive or travel swiftly

Also: spin-dry (tr) to rotate (clothes) in a washing machine in order to extract surplus water

(intr) to reel or grow dizzy, as from turning around my head is spinning

(intr) to fish by drawing a revolving lure through the water

(intr) informal to present news or information in a way that creates a favourable impression

noun

a swift rotating motion; instance of spinning

physics

the intrinsic angular momentum of an elementary particle or atomic nucleus, as distinguished from any angular momentum resulting from its motion
a quantum number determining values of this angular momentum in units of the Dirac constant, having integral or half-integral valuesSymbol: S, s

a condition of loss of control of an aircraft or an intentional flight manoeuvre in which the aircraft performs a continuous spiral descent because the angle of maximum lift is less than the angle of incidence

a spinning motion imparted to a ball, etc

(in skating) any of various movements involving spinning rapidly on the spot

informal a short or fast drive, ride, etc, esp in a car, for pleasure

flat spin informal, mainly British a state of agitation or confusion

Australian and NZ informal a period of time or an experience; chance or luck; fortune a bad spin

commerce informal a sudden downward trend in prices, values, etc

informal the practice of presenting news or information in a way that creates a favourable impression

on the spin informal one after another they have lost two finals on the spin

Word Origin for spin

Old English spinnan; related to Old Norse spinna, Old High German spinnan to spin, Lithuanian pinu to braid

Scientific definitions for span

spin

[ spĭn ]

The intrinsic angular momentum of a rigid body or particle, especially a subatomic particle. Also called spin angular momentum

The total angular momentum of a physical system, such as an electron orbital or an atomic nucleus.

A quantum number expressing spin angular momentum; the actual angular momentum is a quantum number multiplied by Dirac's constant. Fermions have spin values that are integer multiples of 12, while bosons have spin values that are integer multiples of 1.

Idioms and Phrases with span (1 of 2)

span

see spick and span.

Idioms and Phrases with span (2 of 2)

spin

In addition to the idioms beginning with spin

spin a yarn
spin control
spin doctor
spin off
spin one's wheels
spin out

also see:

go into a tailspin
make one's head spin
put a spin on

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

span

noun

verb (used with object), spanned, span·ning.

Origin of span

Words nearby span

Definition for span (2 of 5)

noun

Origin of span

SYNONYMS FOR span

Definition for span (3 of 5)

verb Archaic.

Definition for span (4 of 5)

verb (used with object), spun or (Archaic) span, spun, spin·ning.

verb (used without object), spun or (Archaic) span, spun, spin·ning.

noun

Verb Phrases

Origin of spin

SYNONYMS FOR spin

OTHER WORDS FROM spin

Definition for span (5 of 5)

Words related to span

Example sentences from the Web for span

British Dictionary definitions for span (1 of 5)

noun

verb spans, spanning or spanned (tr)

Word Origin for span

British Dictionary definitions for span (2 of 5)

noun

Word Origin for span

British Dictionary definitions for span (3 of 5)

verb

British Dictionary definitions for span (4 of 5)

abbreviation for

British Dictionary definitions for span (5 of 5)

verb spins, spinning or spun

noun

Word Origin for spin

Scientific definitions for span

Idioms and Phrases with span (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with span (2 of 2)