spreads

to reach and have an effect on more and more people, places, or living things, especially when talking about a disease, news, fear, or an idea that passes from one to another

• circulate

  more formal, often used for information moving among a group

• propagate

  formal; used for ideas, beliefs, or biological reproduction

• contain

  to keep something from reaching more people (e.g., contain a disease)

• restrict

  to limit the reach or effect of something

to stretch over a wide physical area, describing the position or layout of a place such as a city, valley, forest, or desert

• stretch

  very similar meaning, often used for land, roads, or distances

• extend

  emphasises reaching in a particular direction or length

to be found across many separate locations in a region or throughout the world, especially when talking about plants, animals, languages, or customs

• be distributed

  more formal; used in scientific or statistical contexts

• be found

  simpler phrasing for natural existence in places

• be confined to

  to exist only in a limited area

• be restricted to

  to be limited to a particular place

to take something folded, rolled, or closed and make it lie flat, thereby covering more space than before — for example, spreading a map, blanket, napkin, or pair of wings

• unfold

  more specific to removing folds; less common for spreading a cloth on a surface

• open out

  phrasal verb with very similar meaning

• fold

  to bend something so it takes up less space

• fold up

  phrasal verb meaning to close by folding

to arrange or place several separate things across a surface, usually with space between them or in a loose, casual way — for example, spreading photos on a table or toys on the carpet

• scatter

  suggests a more random, less careful arrangement

• distribute

  more formal; suggests intentional placement

• gather

  to bring separate things together into one place

• collect

  to pick up things that are spread around

to move your arms, legs, or fingers outward in opposite directions until they are as far apart as possible

• extend

  more formal; can apply to limbs or time periods

• stretch out

  emphasises reaching to the full length; slightly more informal

• fold

  to bring arms or legs back close to the body

to tell a piece of information to many different people so that it becomes widely known

• circulate

  often used for formal information or documents

• pass on

  less direct; one person at a time

• hide

  to try to keep information secret

to divide something among a group so that each person gets a share, especially money, work, or resources

• distribute

  more formal and neutral; common in business contexts

• concentrate

  to give everything to one person or put resources in one place

to cover a surface with a soft substance, such as butter, jam, or cream, by smoothing it over the area evenly

• apply

  more formal; used for creams, paints, and medical ointments

• smear

  implies a messy or careless application; slightly negative

• scrape off

  to remove a substance from a surface

if a smile spreads across someone's face, it gradually appears and becomes bigger, showing they are happy or amused

• creep across

  suggests a slow, sometimes sneaky appearance

the process by which knowledge, news, ideas, or beliefs reach a continuously growing audience and become familiar to many people.

• dissemination

  more formal; often used in academic or official writing about information

• circulation

  focuses on the movement of information through a network, like news in a community

• transmission

  can be about signals, data, or cultural elements passing from one person to another

• suppression

  the act of stopping information from becoming known

the total area, distance, or range that something covers or reaches.

• span

  emphasises the distance between two endpoints, like the span of a bridge

• expanse

  suggests a wide, open, and often impressive area of land or water

• range

  can refer to scope or variety, not just physical area

an advertisement or article that fills one or more complete pages of a printed periodical, often featuring large images and prominent text.

• feature

  a special article in a newspaper or magazine, but not necessarily page-filling

• layout

  the design and arrangement of content on a page, not the content itself

• advertorial

  an advertisement designed to look like an article

a soft food such as butter, jam, or cheese that you put onto bread, toast, or crackers in a thin layer.

• paste

  thicker and usually savoury; not usually sweet like jam

• butter

  a specific dairy spread made from cream

• margarine

  a butter substitute made from vegetable oils

• jam

  a sweet fruit spread

a large farm or stretch of land, typically in the western United States, where cattle or other livestock are raised.

• ranch

  more specific; refers to a working farm for raising livestock

• homestead

  a house and surrounding land, especially one settled under historical US land laws

• estate

  a large property, often with a grand house; not necessarily a working farm

A large meal that has many different dishes, often prepared for a celebration or a special occasion such as a holiday, party, or family gathering.

• feast

  More formal and literary; suggests even greater abundance and ceremony

• banquet

  Formal meal for many people, often part of a ceremony or official event

• buffet

  A meal where guests serve themselves from a variety of dishes, not necessarily for a special occasion

• snack

  A small, light amount of food, opposite of a large abundant meal

The amount by which two similar figures, especially prices, interest rates, or financial values, differ from each other.

• gap

  More general; can be used outside finance for any difference between values

• margin

  Specifically the difference between cost and selling price in business

• difference

  Neutral and widely used; less technical than 'spread'

• parity

  A situation where two amounts are equal, the opposite of a spread

A decorative piece of cloth used to cover a bed or a table, often chosen to match a room's colours or style.

• bedspread

  The most common specific term for a bed covering; 'spread' alone is slightly shorter but synonymous

• tablecloth

  The standard word for a cloth covering a table; 'table spread' is less common

• coverlet

  A lighter bed covering, usually decorative rather than warm