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stretcher

stretcher

5 4.9
A tool that makes shoes or gloves wider to fit better
  • noun
  • /ˈstrɛtʃər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ensanchador
  • Maria forgot to put the shoe stretchers in my shoes.
  • a wooden stretcher

Examples

  • You can easily make your gloves looser by using a stretcher to stretch them.

  • Shenge (the former limo driver, now working as Jean's assistant) assembles stretchers.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Babe, you know Maria forgot to put my shoe stretchers in again?

    Good Deeds (2012)

  • Trainers with stretchers stand by.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Over 300,000 readers benefit from the time and money-saving ideas presented in The Dollar Stretcher newsletters each week.

    Blog text (18)

  • Maria forgot to put the stretchers in my shoes to give them a better fit.

  • The stretcher helped widen my favorite shoes so they would be more comfortable.

Synonyms

extender
vsstretcher
3 4.1

A tool that makes something longer or reaches farther

enlarges mainly to make items less tight rather than increase reach
expander
vsstretcher
2 4.4

A tool used to make things wider, for example a jaw or a pipe

also makes items fit less tightly rather than only widening them
loosener
vsstretcher
1 4.5

A liquid that makes a stuck screw or bolt move more easily

widens items to increase size while also making their fit less tight

Compounds

stretcher-bearer
  • Jargon
1 6.4

A person who carries a hurt or sick person on a stretcher

stretcher party
  • Jargon
6.6

A group of people who carry injured or sick people on stretchers during emergencies

Surface Forms

stretcher singular
stretchers plural

Morphology

stretcher = stretch (transparent) = stretch + er

A shoe or glove 'stretcher' is an instrument whose function is to stretch, directly corresponding to 'stretch' + '-er'.

Etymology

Stretcher comes from the verb stretch, which means 'to make bigger by pulling'. A shoe or glove stretcher is a tool that pulls the material to make it looser or larger, so the name is 'something that stretches'.