wingspread

[ wing-spred ]

noun

1. the distance between the most outward tips of the wings wings when they are as extended as possible.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wingspread¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; wing + spread

Example Sentences

By comparison, the snappily dressed kids in group shots typically arrange themselves in poses, crouching with their arms upraised or wingspread like the Jackson 5 or folded on their chests B-boy style.

From New York Times

He stood there as if be were drying himself in the sun, with a wingspread of about eleven feet, a bright orange head and a magenta carbuncle.

From Literature

The great eagle, with its six-foot wingspread, did not see him.

From Literature

“I had prepared her for the nightly invasion of bats … but she had not expected so many, she said, or that they would have a three-foot wingspread and such big teeth,” he remembered.

From New York Times

His six-and-a-half-foot wingspread has been crippled by bullets; they say he screams when his Corps sees action.

From Project Gutenberg