stretcher: Meaning and Definition of

stretch•er

Pronunciation: (strech'ur), [key]
— n.
    1. a kind of litter, often of canvas stretched on a frame, for carrying the sick, wounded, or dead.
    2. a similar litter on wheels, adapted for use in ambulances and hospitals.
  1. a person or thing that stretches.
  2. any of various instruments for extending, widening, distending, etc.
  3. a bar, beam, or fabricated material, serving as a tie or brace.
  4. a brick or stone laid in a wall so that its longer edge is exposed or parallel to the surface. Cf.(def. 5a).
  5. a simple wooden framework on which the canvas for an oil painting is stretched.
    1. a framework connecting and bracing the legs of a piece of furniture.
    2. one member of this framework.
  6. a crosspiece that is set athwart and near the bottom in a small boat, and against which the feet of a rower are braced.
  7. one of the thin, sliding rods connecting the canopy and handle of an umbrella.
—v.t.
  1. to stretch (canvas for a painting) on a stretcher.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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