Stretch (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stretched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stretching.] [OE. strecchen, AS. streccan; akin to D. strekken, G. strecken, OHG. strecchen, Sw. sträcka, Dan. strække; cf. AS. stræck, strec, strong, violent, G. strack straight; of uncertain origin, perhaps akin to E. strong. Cf. Straight.] 1. To reach out; to extend; to put forth.
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And stretch forth his neck long and small. Chaucer.
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I in conquest stretched mine arm. Shak.
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2. To draw out to the full length; to cause to extend in a straight line; as, to stretch a cord or rope.
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3. To cause to extend in breadth; to spread; to expand; as, to stretch cloth; to stretch the wings.
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4. To make tense; to tighten; to distend forcibly.
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The ox hath therefore stretched his yoke in vain. Shak.
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5. To draw or pull out to greater length; to strain; as, to stretch a tendon or muscle.
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Awake, my soul, stretch every nerve. Doddridge.
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6. To exaggerate; to extend too far; as, to stretch the truth; to stretch one's credit.
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They take up, one day, the most violent and stretched prerogative. Burke.
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Stretch, n. 1. Act of stretching, or state of being stretched; reach; effort; struggle; strain; as, a stretch of the limbs; a stretch of the imagination.
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By stretch of arms the distant shore to gain. Dryden.
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Those put a lawful authority upon the stretch, to the abuse of yower, under the color of prerogative. L'Estrange.
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2. A continuous line or surface; a continuous space of time; as, grassy stretches of land.
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A great stretch of cultivated country. W. Black.
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But all of them left me a week at a stretch. E. Eggleston.
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3. The extent to which anything may be stretched.
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Quotations, in their utmost stretch, can signify no more than that Luther lay under severe agonies of mind. Atterbury.
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This is the utmost stretch that nature can. Granville.
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4. (Naut.) The reach or extent of a vessel's progress on one tack; a tack or board.
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5. Course; direction; as, the stretch of seams of coal.
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To be on the stretch, to be obliged to use one's utmost powers. -- Home stretch. See under Home, a.
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