strew

American  

[stroo] / stru /

verb (used with object)

strewed, strewn, strewed, strewing

1. to let fall in separate pieces or particles over a surface; scatter or sprinkle.

   to strew seed in a garden bed.

   Synonyms:

   broadcast

   Antonyms:

   reap, gather

2. to cover or overspread (a surface, place, etc.) with something scattered or sprinkled.

   to strew a floor with sawdust.

3. to be scattered or sprinkled over (a surface).

   Sawdust strewed the floor.

4. to spread widely; disseminate.

   to strew rumors among the troops.

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strew British  

/ struː /

verb

1. to spread or scatter or be spread or scattered, as over a surface or area

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Related Words

See sprinkle.

Other Word Forms

• strewer noun
• understrew verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of strew

First recorded before 1000; Middle English strewen, Old English strewian; cognate with German streuen, Old Norse strā, Gothic straujan; akin to Latin sternere “to spread” ( stratum )

Example Sentences

We strew waste across the Earth from our industrialized societies.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2023

A large section of the building facade is missing along its roofline, with rubble strew across the road below.

From BBC • May 1, 2023

The only sign that the damaged building is not abandoned are the bunches of freshly cut, fragrant grass that worshipers traditionally strew in places of worship.

From Washington Post • Apr. 12, 2023

Disturbed by statistics on Italian emigration that swelled to 84,000 in 1884 alone, Scalabrini wrote that the mass emigration and separation of families would “help strew white the lands of America with their bones.”

From Seattle Times • Oct. 9, 2022

So I offered to fetch fresh lavender to strew in Gertrude’s bedchamber, and that night I knelt again on the ground, gathering the silvery, purple-tipped fronds of lavender into my arms.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

Related Words

• scatter
• sprinkle