Spread Out – Meaning and Examples
Imagine people standing too close together, and you ask them to move further apart, or a teacher telling students to put their work over the entire desk. When things move or are distributed over a wider area, or when tasks are distributed over a longer period of time, they spread out. This phrasal verb is useful in both literal and figurative senses.
What Does “Spread Out” Mean?
The phrasal verb “spread out” has two main meanings:
- To extend or distribute across a large area, often to occupy more space.
- To distribute tasks, costs, or events over a longer period of time (figurative use).
In all cases, it means increasing the distance or duration between items or events.
When to Use It
You can use spread out when discussing organization, distance, or scheduling.
- Physical Space: The instructor asked the exercise participants to spread out so they didn’t hit each other.
- Scheduling: We decided to spread out the meetings across two days instead of one busy day.
- Distribution: The population of the country is beginning to spread out from the capital to smaller towns.
This phrase is informal and very common.
Example Sentences
- The campers were advised to spread out their food items to avoid attracting animals to one spot.
- You have too much reading to do today; try to spread it out over the entire week.
- The city has spread out so much that the suburbs are now fifty miles from the center.
- They had to spread out the payments for the new car over five years.
Mini Dialogue
Alex: “Should we carry all these boxes at once?”
Jamie: “No, let’s spread out the load over two trips. It will be much easier.”
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Do not use “spread out” when describing pouring a liquid or buttering bread. Use “spread” instead.
❌ Don’t: “Please spread out the jam on your toast.” (This is incorrect. Use “spread the jam.”)
✅ Do: “The new maps show how far the town has spread out.” (This means the town has increased in physical size.)
Practice Tip
Think of a huge project you have coming up. Write one sentence explaining how you plan to spread out the work to avoid stress.
Final Note
Using spread out is an efficient way to talk about spatial or temporal distribution. Practice using this phrase when organizing things or managing a large workload!
