spreader

American  

[spred-er] / ˈsprɛd ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that spreads.

2. a small, dull knife or spatula used for spreading butter, jelly, etc., on bread.

3. a machine for dispersing bulk material.

   manure spreader.

4. a device for spacing or keeping apart two objects, as electric wires.

5. Nautical. a strut for spreading shrouds on a mast.

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ˈspreader British  

/ ˈsprɛdə /

noun

1. a machine or device used for scattering bulk materials, esp manure or fertilizer, over a relatively wide area

2. a device for keeping apart or spacing parallel objects, such as electric wires

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Other Word Forms

• antispreader noun

Etymology

Origin of spreader

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

Example Sentences

Chief executive Susan Hopkins previously said it looked as though there had been a super spreader event, with the outbreak ongoing within university halls of residences, where there would have been parties and social mixing.

From BBC

She said it looked as though there had been a super spreader event, though she could not yet confirm where the initial infection originated.

From BBC

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