outstretch
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English outstrecchen, equivalent to out- + stretch. Cognate with West Frisian útstreekje (“to outstretch”), Dutch uitstrekken (“to outstretch”), German Low German utstrecken (“to outstretch”), German ausstrecken (“to outstretch”), Danish udstrække (“to outstretch”), Swedish utsträcka (“to outstretch”).
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
outstretch (third-person singular simple present outstretches, present participle outstretching, simple past and past participle outstretched)
- To extend by stretching
- 2012, John Branch, “Snow Fall : The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek”, in New York Time[1]:
- She knew from avalanche safety courses that outstretched hands might puncture the ice surface and alert rescuers. She knew that if victims ended up buried under the snow, cupped hands in front of the face could provide a small pocket of air for the mouth and nose. Without it, the first breaths could create a suffocating ice mask.