spread out

verb

"spread-out" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spread out” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Become further apart.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spread-out · spread out · English

spread out · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "S" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for spread out
PropertyValue
Headwordspread out
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “spread out” in English

spread outranks outside the top 100,000 English headwords, in the long tail of specialist, archaic, or seldom-used vocabulary, exactly the territory where a reader stops mid-sentence to double-check spelling.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

spread out is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for spread out, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: Analytic form of earlier outspread. The correct English form is spread out, spelled S-P-R-E-A-D- -O-U-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Become further apart.
  2. 2
    To place items further apart.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how spread out appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The police spread out to search a wider area.
  2. Spread the cards out and then turn two of them over at random.

Etymology

Analytic form of earlier outspread.

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "spread out"?
"spread out" is spelled S-P-R-E-A-D- -O-U-T.
What does "spread out" mean?
As a verb, "spread out" means: Become further apart.
What is the origin of the word "spread out"?
Analytic form of earlier outspread. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list