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Glite Dictionary
to spin out

to spin out

1 5.6
To make something last longer than needed
  • phrasal verb
  • /spɪn aʊt/
  • Informal
translation icon : alargar
  • He tried to spin out the meeting to avoid answering difficult questions.

If you think of Edwin Arlington Robinson or Conrad Aiken, they were riding long pentameters spun out.

Examples

  • Oxford Photovoltaics Ltd., a company recently spun out from the University of Oxford, has developed a solar cell technology that is manufactured from low-cost, abundant, non-toxic, and non-corrosive materials and can be scaled to any volume.

    Blog text (32)

  • She tends to spin out her stories, making them last longer than necessary.

  • Stop spinning out your wild theories.

    The Pyramid (2014)

  • I'm spinning out, man.

    A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III (2013)

  • But look, look, there's plenty of money to be spun out of that dead dead sharks carcass, isn't there?

  • But the drink would spin out into a long and leisurely lunch, with Pandora falling into conversation with any person who happened to be within earshot.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • Enough to save her, enough to provide space for the engendering and birth of her children, whom she hides from her husband as Walter hid his from Griselda, enough to spin out her life until it becomes love and happy-ever-after, so to speak, as Griselda's does.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • The teacher asked him not to spin out his explanation during the presentation.

Synonyms

to prolong
vsto spin out
96 3.9

To make something last longer

is specifically about making something last longer than necessary
to drag out
vsto spin out
  • Informal
23 5.1

Make something last longer than needed, causing boredom or frustration

is the same extension but without stressing negative effect
to draw out
vsto spin out
9 4.0

Make a conversation or event last longer than usual

is focused on extending duration beyond what is needed
to spin
vsto spin out
6 5.5

To make something last longer than needed

is the act of making something last longer than necessary
to protract
vsto spin out
4 7.8

To make something last longer than it needs to

is the general act of extending duration beyond necessity
to string out
vsto spin out
  • Informal
2 6.3

To make something last longer than needed, often on purpose

is the action of prolonging duration without implying intent
to spin-out
vsto spin out
  • Informal
6.7

To make something last longer by making it finish later

is the same prolonging but not always done on purpose

Antonyms

to cut short
67 3.5

Stop something earlier than planned

How Long

to drag out
  • Informal
23 5.1
to spin out
  • Informal
1 5.6
to prolong
96 3.9
to extend
680 3.2
to finish
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

spin out infinitive
spinning out present participle
spins out third person singular
spun out past
spun out past participle

Morphology

spin + out

The particle 'out' signals extension or continuation, which gives a hint that the action involves prolonging; however the verb 'spin' (literal rotation) does not directly mean 'prolong' and the specific metaphorical shift to 'make something last longer' is not fully predictable. Because one constituent suggests extension but the other does not, a B1 learner who knows the parts would only partially infer the meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

The verb spin out comes from the image of pulling thread out while you spin yarn from a ball: by pulling the thread slowly you can make it last longer. So, spin out means 'to make something last longer'.