spread

spread — 動詞

1. to gradually take up extra space by moving outward in many directions, so that t

1.動詞及物 / 不及物B1
釋義

散布；擴散

範圍逐漸向外擴大

to gradually take up extra space by moving outward in many directions, so that the area filled keeps growing; or to cause this to happen to something.

例句

The wildfire spread quickly through the dry pine forest north of Athens.

野火迅速在雅典北邊乾燥的松林中蔓延開來。

intransitive: spread + adverbial of direction

Trang watched the ink spread slowly across the wet paper.

Trang 看著墨水在濕紙上慢慢擴散。

同義詞
  • extend

    more formal; emphasises reach rather than uncontrolled growth

  • expand

    implies growing bigger in size, not just covering wider area

反義詞
  • contract

    shrink inward, opposite of expanding outward

文法句型

spread + adverbial of place

spread + object + adverbial

用法筆記

Often used with directional prepositions (through, across, over, into, outward). The intransitive form is more common when describing natural processes; the transitive form needs an outside agent (wind, person) doing the spreading.

常見錯誤

❌The fire spread to bigger.
✅The fire spread further.
💡'spread' takes adverbs of direction or distance, not 'to + adjective'.

2. if a disease, idea, habit, or feeling spreads, an increasing number of people, p

2.動詞及物 / 不及物B1
釋義

傳染；傳播

讓更多人受到影響或感染

if a disease, idea, habit, or feeling spreads, an increasing number of people, places, or things start to be affected by it; you can also say that someone or something spreads it.

例句

The flu spread through Christopher's school in less than a week.

流感不到一週就在 Christopher 的學校傳染開來。

subject is a disease

Panic spread among the passengers when the lights on the train went out.

火車的燈一熄滅，恐慌就在乘客之間傳播開來。

subject is an emotion

同義詞
  • circulate

    more often used for stories or rumours, not diseases

  • transmit

    formal/technical, especially for diseases or signals

反義詞
  • contain

    stop something from spreading further

文法句型

spread among/through + group

spread + object + among/through + group

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 8 (verb_b2): sense 2 covers diseases, ideas, emotions, habits — anything intangible that takes hold among people. Sense 8 specifically means telling news or information by speaking. Subjects here include nouns like 'flu', 'fear', 'panic', 'rumour', 'belief'.

常見錯誤

❌The cold spread me yesterday.
✅I caught a cold yesterday.
💡a person doesn't 'get spread' a disease; the disease spreads to people, or among them.

3. to fill or take up a wide stretch of land, sky, or surface; used when describing

3.動詞不及物B1
釋義

綿延；遍布

占據一大片地域或表面

to fill or take up a wide stretch of land, sky, or surface; used when describing the size of something visible such as fields, forests, or a city.

例句

Vineyards spread for miles below the hilltop village where Mauricio grew up.

Mauricio 從小成長的山頂村莊下方，葡萄園綿延數英里。

spread + for + distance

The desert spreads from the western coast all the way to the eastern mountains.

這片沙漠從西岸一路綿延到東邊的山脈。

spread from X to Y

同義詞
  • stretch

    interchangeable here; suggests a long shape

  • extend

    slightly more formal

文法句型

spread + adverbial of place

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: sense 3 describes static size (a thing already occupies a wide area), while sense 1 describes a process of growing wider over time. Common subjects: forests, fields, cities, clouds, plantations.

常見錯誤

❌The forest spreads big across the valley.
✅The forest spreads across the valley.
💡no need for an extra size adjective; 'spread + across/over' already conveys wide coverage.

4. to be located, or to put something, in many separate places rather than gathered

4.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

分散各處

分布在多個不同的地方

to be located, or to put something, in many separate places rather than gathered in one spot; often used in the passive form 'be spread'.

例句

The bank's offices are spread across twelve countries in Southeast Asia.

這家銀行的辦公室分散在東南亞十二個國家。

passive: be spread across + region

Tanvi's relatives are spread between Mumbai, London, and Toronto.

Tanvi 的親戚分散在孟買、倫敦和多倫多。

passive with three locations

同義詞
  • scatter

    more random and uneven; suggests no clear pattern

  • distribute

    more formal; suggests deliberate placement

反義詞

文法句型

be spread + adverbial of location

spread + object + across/around + locations

用法筆記

Most often appears in the passive ('be spread across/throughout/between'). Distinguish from sense 1 — sense 4 describes a static distribution (where things already are), not a process of moving outward.

常見錯誤

❌My cousins spread in three countries.
✅My cousins are spread across three countries.
💡this sense usually needs the passive 'be spread'.

5. to open up something that was folded, rolled, or bunched together, so that it li

5.動詞及物B1
釋義

攤開；展開

把折疊的東西打開鋪平

to open up something that was folded, rolled, or bunched together, so that it lies flat and covers a bigger area than before — for example a map, a blanket, or a newspaper.

例句

Iris spread the picnic blanket on the grass under the cherry tree.

Iris 把野餐墊鋪在櫻花樹下的草地上。

spread + object + on + surface

Mert spread the old paper map across the kitchen table to plan the route.

Mert 把舊紙地圖攤在廚房桌上規劃路線。

同義詞
  • unfold

    specifically means undoing folds; spread can include unrolling and shaking out

  • lay out

    stresses placing it flat, often deliberately

反義詞
  • fold

    reverse action: bring edges together

文法句型

spread + object + out

spread + object + on/over + surface

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 7 (stretch arms or legs) and sense 6 (arrange small items on a surface). Sense 5 is about a single flexible object becoming flat. Common objects: blanket, map, newspaper, cloth, sheet.

常見錯誤

❌She spread her arms on the table.' (when meaning to unfold)
✅She spread the map on the table.
💡sense 5 takes a flat object, not body parts.

6. to place a number of separate things across a surface, with small gaps between t

6.動詞及物B1
釋義

鋪排；攤放

把多樣物品分散放在表面上

to place a number of separate things across a surface, with small gaps between them, so that each one can be seen clearly — for example photos, papers, or playing cards.

例句

Liam spread the family photos across the dining table to choose ones for the album.

Liam 把家庭照片鋪排在餐桌上，挑選要放進相簿的那些。

spread + countable objects + across + surface

The teacher spread the test papers on each desk before the students walked in.

老師在學生走進來之前，把考卷一張張放在每個課桌上。

同義詞
  • lay out

    very close in meaning; slightly more deliberate-sounding

  • scatter

    implies less neat, more random placement

反義詞
  • stack

    pile in one place instead of spreading apart

  • gather

    bring things back together

文法句型

spread + objects + on/across + surface

spread + objects + out

用法筆記

Object is plural or a collective noun (photos, papers, cards, pieces). Distinguish from sense 10 (verb_b2), which is about putting a soft substance such as butter onto a surface — that takes a mass-noun object, not a countable one.

常見錯誤

❌He spread the butter across the table.' (when meaning to lay out items)
✅He spread the photos across the table.
💡for arranging items, use a countable plural object.

7. to push parts of your body — typically arms, hands, legs, or toes — outward so t

7.動詞及物B2
釋義

張開；伸開

把手指、手臂或腿盡量往外伸展

to push parts of your body — typically arms, hands, legs, or toes — outward so they end up as far apart as you can manage.

例句

Hui spread her fingers wide and pressed her palm against the cold window.

Hui 把手指張得開開的，掌心貼在冰冷的窗戶上。

spread + body part (fingers) + adverb of degree

The yoga teacher told Sahil to spread his toes and grip the mat.

瑜珈老師要 Sahil 張開腳趾，緊抓住瑜珈墊。

同義詞
  • stretch out

    very close in meaning; emphasises the lengthening more than the apartness

  • splay

    stronger and often awkward or messy spreading, especially of fingers or legs

反義詞
  • close

    for fingers or legs being brought together

文法句型

spread + body part (often plural)

用法筆記

Object is almost always a body part (arms, legs, fingers, toes, wings). Distinguish from sense 5 (verb_b1), which spreads out folded objects like maps or blankets.

常見錯誤

❌I spread my body to relax.
✅I spread my arms and legs to relax.
💡the verb takes specific limbs as its object, not the whole body.

8. to pass information, news, or rumours to many people, or for that information to

8.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

傳開；散布

把消息或謠言傳給很多人

to pass information, news, or rumours to many people, or for that information to reach many people quickly.

例句

News of the wedding spread through the village within a single afternoon.

婚禮的消息一個下午之內就在村裡傳開了。

intransitive: news + spread + through + place

Rania promised not to spread the rumour, but two friends already knew by lunchtime.

Rania 答應不散布謠言，但兩個朋友中午前就已經知道了。

transitive: spread + rumour

同義詞
  • circulate

    more neutral and often used for documents or formal information

  • broadcast

    stronger; suggests deliberate, wide announcement

  • leak

    for secret information shared without permission

反義詞
  • suppress

    actively keep information from spreading

文法句型

spread + news/rumour/word

news/rumour + spread (intransitive)

用法筆記

Used both transitively (someone spreads X) and intransitively (X spreads). Common subjects in the intransitive pattern: news, rumour, story, word, panic, gossip. Distinguish from sense 2 (verb_b1), which is about diseases, fires, or feelings physically reaching new places.

常見錯誤

❌He spread me the news.
✅He spread the news to me.
💡'spread' does not take a double object like 'tell' or 'give'.

9. to share something out so that it is divided between several people, or split ac

9.動詞及物B2
釋義

分攤；分散

把事物分配給多個人或多段時間

to share something out so that it is divided between several people, or split across several different times.

例句

Romi spread the holiday costs over six monthly payments instead of paying upfront.

Romi 把度假費用分攤成六期月付，而不是一次付清。

spread + cost + over + time period

The teacher spread the marking among four colleagues so nobody felt overloaded.

老師把改考卷的工作分攤給四位同事，這樣大家都不會太累。

spread + work + among + people

同義詞
  • distribute

    more formal; often used in business or logistics contexts

  • divide

    focuses on splitting into parts rather than the wider sharing

  • stagger

    specifically for spacing events out over time

反義詞

文法句型

spread + something + among/between + people

spread + something + over + period of time

用法筆記

Frequently passive when the focus is on the distribution rather than who arranged it. Distinguish from sense 6 (verb_b1), which is about physically arranging objects on a surface — this sense is about dividing abstract things like cost, work, time, or risk.

常見錯誤

❌She spread the work in three days.
✅She spread the work over three days.
💡use 'over' (or 'across') for periods of time, not 'in'.

10. to push a soft substance such as butter, jam, or paint over a surface so it form

10.動詞及物 / 不及物B2
釋義

塗抹

把軟性物質均勻塗在表面上

to push a soft substance such as butter, jam, or paint over a surface so it forms a thin even covering, or (of the substance itself) to be soft enough to do this.

例句

Jabari spread thick peanut butter onto two slices of toast for breakfast.

Jabari 在兩片吐司上塗了厚厚的花生醬當早餐。

spread + substance + onto + surface

This butter is hard to spread when it comes straight out of the fridge.

這奶油剛從冰箱拿出來時很難塗開。

intransitive: subject + spread + adverb

同義詞
  • smear

    often suggests a messy or careless layer

  • apply

    more formal and neutral; common in beauty and decorating contexts

  • coat

    emphasises full covering rather than the spreading action

反義詞

文法句型

spread + substance + on/onto + surface

substance + spread + easily/well (intransitive)

用法筆記

Object is a soft, paste-like substance (butter, jam, cream, glue, plaster, paint, frosting). Distinguish from sense 6 (verb_b1), which scatters separate objects like leaves or papers — this sense is about a continuous soft layer.

常見錯誤

❌She spread the bread with butter on it.
✅She spread butter on the bread.
💡the soft substance is the direct object; the surface follows 'on' or 'onto'.

11. (of a smile or similar expression) to gradually grow wider across a person's fac

11.動詞不及物C1
釋義

（笑容）綻開

笑容慢慢在臉上展開變大

(of a smile or similar expression) to gradually grow wider across a person's face until it becomes large and obvious.

例句

A wide grin spread across Eliska's face when she saw the surprise puppy.

Eliska 看到那隻驚喜小狗時，臉上綻開了一個大大的笑容。

a grin/smile + spread + across + someone's face — fixed pattern

A slow smile spread over the old man's face as he recognised his granddaughter.

當老人認出孫女時，臉上慢慢綻開了一個微笑。

同義詞
  • break out

    for a smile that appears suddenly rather than slowly

  • creep across

    very close; emphasises slowness even more

反義詞
  • fade

    for an expression slowly disappearing from a face

文法句型

a smile/grin + spread + across/over + someone's face

用法筆記

Almost always intransitive and almost always with subject 'smile', 'grin', or a similar facial expression, plus 'across' or 'over' someone's face. Found mostly in narrative writing rather than everyday speech.

常見錯誤

❌She spread a smile across her face.
✅A smile spread across her face.
💡the smile is the subject; the person does not spread it deliberately.

spread — 名詞