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to strew

to strew

4 6.3
To spread things loosely and messily across an area
  • verb
  • /struː/
translation icon : esparcir
  • In South Asian art, apsaras are commonly shown carrying flowers, which they strew over kings and heroes in celebration of their victories.
  • strew petals
  • strew flowers
  • strew corn

Airmen who flew over the area reported seeing the land strewn with mostly Spanish corpses.

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Examples

  • I'm going with the twisting leaf strewn path through the woods.

  • My heart squeezed, no, thank God, not Ruth but Paul, the uniformed super, who clasped a bucket of salt which he strewed along the concrete walk's white pall as if sowing seed.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I'll go out and strew the path with flowers.

  • And he got to Thailand, and the native girls, they strew flowers in his path.

  • Forerun fair love, strewing her way with flowers.

  • Eventually, we carried his ashes to Mississippi and strewed them over his parents' graves.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • From the refuse cans, they strewed torn papers, orange and banana peelings.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • As he walked through rubble strewn courts and roofless halls, he is said to have quoted a Persian poet.

  • A truckful of chickens passed us—stacks and stacks of crates, strewing feathers.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • The children will strew leaves on the ground for the fall festival.

Synonyms

to scatter
vsto strew
187 2.8

To spread small things like leaves or seeds over an area without order

is more about messy untidy placement across surfaces
to sprinkle
vsto strew
100 1.1

To put small drops of liquid or tiny pieces on something

spreads solid items untidily rather than tiny drops or particles
to smatter
vsto strew
  • Archaic
1 8.8

To cover with small drops or spots like mud and paint

spreads items more widely and often in untidy larger amounts
to bestrew
vsto strew
  • Archaic
9.9

To cover a surface by scattering things like papers or flowers

is used more for messy irregular spreading rather than neat covering

Antonyms

499 1.1

To bring things or people together in one place

How Scattered

to disperse
104 4.4
to scatter
187 2.8
to strew
4 6.3
to sprinkle
100 1.1

Surface Forms

strew infinitive
strewing present participle
strews third person singular
strewed past
strewed past participle

Etymology

Strew comes from an old English word that meant 'to scatter' and is related to straw, because people used to strew straw across floors. So, to strew something today is to scatter or spread it in a messy way.