spreader

[ spred-er ]

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.

ˈspreader

/ 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

Other Words From

• anti·spreader noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of spreader¹

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

Example Sentences

People under 40 became the main spreaders of the virus, accounting for 57 percent of cases between July and August.

From Washington Post

The evidence now suggests that the role of such “silent spreaders” is substantial, even though they tend to infect fewer people on average.

From MIT Technology Review

In the early days of the pandemic, ski resorts across Europe became super spreaders, with visitors transporting the virus like carry-on luggage, threatening other tourists and locals alike.

From Time

My goal, in the midst of what I feared was a super spreader event, was to make the room at least a little safer.

From Washington Post

Some aides then told told PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor that they felt pressured to attend the event to “save face,” and that they were worried it would become a potential super spreader event.

From Essence.com

The event was a devastating one for Sierra Leone, deemed a “super-spreader” by The New York Times.

From The Daily Beast

Thou wast a Valacrone in Varinsey, cunning as a fox, a spreader of lies.

From Project Gutenberg

The spreader is usually stationed in the nearest side track to the unloading place.

From Project Gutenberg

The other method, called the spreader method, was more intricate.

From Project Gutenberg

Then you will be talked of by all the town as a spreader of false reports,—in short, Ferdinand loves another.

From Project Gutenberg

He knew that it meant figuratively a light-spreader: one who marches ahead of his comrades to enlighten the others.

From Project Gutenberg