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to spread the word

to spread the word

68 3.1
Tell many people about something so they know
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : difundir
  • Everyone is encouraged to spread the word about the upcoming charity event.
  • help spread the word
  • spread the word to others
  • spread the word about the school

Well, thank you for helping me spread the word about brain health.

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Examples

  • Everyone's invited, so spread the word.

  • After initial disbelief, community leaders spread the word to their members and urged them to go into hiding.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Well, thank you for helping me spread the word about brain health.

  • So remember, look for a need, spread the word and build a brand.

  • We're gonna spread the word all across this country.

  • It's hard to spread the word, but hopefully places like Film Cards can help.

  • We figured the best way to spread the word was to hit the streets.

  • My father attempted to spread the word among fellow workers during his lunch break.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The aim is to encourage people to become advocates and spread the word.

    Academic text (2011)
  • And Zack continues to spread the word about the dangers of concussions.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

to announce
vsto spread the word
1.5

To tell people officially about something, often in public

is broader, covering informal telling until something becomes widely known
to promote
vsto spread the word
252 3.5

Tell people about a product to increase sales

is neutral and only aims to inform people rather than boost sales
to disclose
vsto spread the word
234 4.1

To tell people information that was secret

is about telling people generally, not only revealing secret information
to circulate
vsto spread the word
103 3.9

To spread information or documents among people

is about actively telling others until the information becomes widely known
to publicize
vsto spread the word
94 4.0

Make something known to many people using news or social media

focuses on telling people until the subject becomes widely known
to broadcast
vsto spread the word
81 3.0

To make news or information known to many people

centers on telling others directly so it becomes widely known
to disseminate
vsto spread the word
48 6.8

To spread information or ideas widely so many people know them

is about telling others so the information becomes widely known
to advertise
vsto spread the word
47 2.6

Tell many people about something so they know it exists

is simply about informing people until many know without seeking attention
to get the word out
vsto spread the word
31 3.2

Tell many people about something so they know

is a more everyday act of telling others until many people know
to propagate
vsto spread the word
23 5.9

Spread ideas, news, or feelings to many people

focuses on telling individuals so the information becomes widely known
to popularize
vsto spread the word
  • US
21 4.2

To make an idea, activity, or subject known and liked by many people

aims simply to tell people until the idea becomes widely known
to bring out
vsto spread the word
8 3.7

Make secret information known to the public

focuses on telling people until the fact becomes widely known rather than exposing secrets
to pass around
vsto spread the word
4 2.0

Make information spread among many people

focuses on telling people so the news becomes known beyond one group
to evangelize
vsto spread the word
  • Jargon
3 7.4

Actively promote a product or idea to get people to use it

aims merely to make people know something, not to convince them to adopt it
to advertize
vsto spread the word
  • US
3.2

To tell many people about something so they know it

focuses on telling people so information becomes widely known instead of attracting attention

Antonyms

90 2.5

To say nothing or not tell a secret

How Widely Known

to go viral
  • Texting
61 3.8
broadcast
  • Literature
484 2.9
to publicize
94 4.0
to spread the word
68 3.1
to inform
1.0
to tell
1.0
mention
220 2.5

Surface Forms

spread the word infinitive
spread the word past participle
spreading the word present participle
spreads the word third person singular

Morphology

spread + the + word

The meaning 'to tell others about something so that it becomes widely known' follows straightforwardly from 'spread' (to disseminate) plus 'word' (a message or piece of news); 'the' is merely a grammatical article. This is a common, compositional verb + noun collocation (cf. 'pass the word') and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrasal verb spread the word comes from the image of spread, like scattering seeds or handing out flyers, and word as the message people should get. That's why it means 'to tell others so it becomes widely known'.