spread-eagle — English Dictionary

Adjective

1. Lying with arms and legs outstretched and separated.

2. Characterized by a pretentious, boastful, exaggerated style; bombastic.

   Usage

   • US usage
   • Dated

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   Our former townsman, Mr. G. F. Train, has recently made a tremendous spread-eagle speech in England, upon the occasion of the reopening of trade between Liverpool and New Zealand […]

   But Mr. Lloyd is not a spread-eagle patriot, or much given to political partisanship.

   The firm did a large and lucrative business from the start, the orders from spread-eagle orators often taxing the full capacity of its works.

Verb

1. To put into a spread-eagle position, with arms and legs extended and spread.

   Usage

   • Transitive

2. To put one's body in a spread eagle.

   Usage

   • Intransitive

Adjective

1. with arms and legs stretched out and apart

   Examples

   lay spread-eagle on the floor

Verb

1. stretch out completely

   Broader terms

   stretchextend

   Examples

   They spread-eagled him across the floor

2. stretch over

   Broader terms

   rangestraddle

   Examples

   His residences spread-eagle the entire county

3. execute a spread eagle on skates, with arms and legs stretched out

   Broader terms

   figure skate

4. stand with arms and legs spread out

   Broader terms

   sprawl

5. defeat disastrously

   Synonyms

   spreadeaglerout

   Broader terms

   beatbeat outcrushshelltrouncevanquish