as in to spread
to cause to move outward and apart
He sat with his legs splayed apart. She splayed her fingers to show off her manicure.
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Recent Examples of splay
One of her bare legs is exposed, splayed out from beneath the sheets.
—
Rachel Handler, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2025
His first solo museum presentation in 2024, at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, included a glimmering installation of amber splayed across the floor.
—Sarah Quiñones Wolfson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
And then probably a Sunday that ends among familiar shadows splayed across fairways, a long walk up Augusta’s 18th, a hat brim pushed up off his forehead, a final putt, a final roar, a teary embrace with his family, and then a 44 Long in green.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Pictured in January 2024, the soldier is splayed out in a makeshift field hospital in a winery near the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splay
Rachel Handler, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2025
His first solo museum presentation in 2024, at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, included a glimmering installation of amber splayed across the floor.
—Sarah Quiñones Wolfson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025
And then probably a Sunday that ends among familiar shadows splayed across fairways, a long walk up Augusta’s 18th, a hat brim pushed up off his forehead, a final putt, a final roar, a teary embrace with his family, and then a 44 Long in green.
—Brendan Quinn, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
Pictured in January 2024, the soldier is splayed out in a makeshift field hospital in a winery near the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for splay
Recent Examples of Synonyms for splay
Verb
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Biden's cancer is characterized as having a Gleason score of 9, grade group 5, which would mean the cells look very different from healthy cells and are likely to grow and spread more quickly.—
Julia Gomez,
USA Today,
20 May 2025
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Measles was fully eliminated from the U.S. in 2000, according to the CDC, meaning the virus was not spreading within the country and new cases only came from people who contracted measles abroad and returned to the U.S.—
Antonio Pequeño IV,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Verb
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Thompson said much of Leavy’s oversight will be split among other senior executives.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
28 May 2025
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Brin’s recent gift of Alphabet shares was split between three nonprofits, most of which went to his 4-year-old nonprofit Catalyst4.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Splay.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/splay. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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