spreader

American

[spred-er] / ˈsprɛd ər /

noun

a person or thing that spreads.
a small, dull knife or spatula used for spreading butter, jelly, etc., on bread.
a machine for dispersing bulk material.

manure spreader.
a device for spacing or keeping apart two objects, as electric wires.
Nautical. a strut for spreading shrouds on a mast.

ˈspreader British

/ ˈsprɛdə /

noun

a machine or device used for scattering bulk materials, esp manure or fertilizer, over a relatively wide area
a device for keeping apart or spacing parallel objects, such as electric wires

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

antispreader noun

Etymology

Origin of spreader

First recorded in 1475–85; spread + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Culex are more interested in biting birds rather than humans and are California’s primary spreader of West Nile virus.

From Los Angeles Times

It was a full-blooded attempt at character assassination, a branding of Rodgers as untrustful, a perpetrator of untruths, a spreader of falsehoods; divisive, misleading and unacceptable.

From BBC

I get to get on stage and make people laugh, be this joy spreader, and then I’m dealing with all these other things that have nothing to do with what I’m here to do.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet, some think this research leads to censorship when platforms choose to use the knowledge to label or remove suspect content or ban its primary spreaders.

From Salon

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a prolific spreader and amplifier of misinformation on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, a new report alleges.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023