Background for span

span

/spæn/

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noun

The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; an eighth of a fathom.

Examples :

"The carpenter measured the span of the wood to ensure it fit the window frame perfectly. "

body nautical unit space

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noun

(by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time.

Examples :

"He has a short attention span and gets bored within minutes."

space time period gap range

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noun

A portion of something by length; a subsequence.

Examples :

"The span of the project's timeline was from January to May. "

part period range math

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noun

The spread or extent of an arch or between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between supports.

Examples :

"The span of the new bridge is longer than the old one. "

architecture building technical structure

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noun

The length of a cable, wire, rope, chain between two consecutive supports.

Examples :

"The span of the suspension bridge cable is 100 meters. "

technical building architecture structure

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noun

A rope having its ends made fast so that a purchase can be hooked to the bight; also, a rope made fast in the center so that both ends can be used.

Examples :

"The worker used the span to lift the heavy box. "

nautical sailing technical

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noun

A pair of horses or other animals driven together; usually, such a pair of horses when similar in color, form, and action.

Examples :

"The farmer used a strong span of horses to pull the heavy wagon. "

animal vehicle agriculture

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noun

The space of all linear combinations of something.

Examples :

"The span of possible test scores in the class reflects the range of student abilities. "

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noun

The time required to execute a parallel algorithm on an infinite number of processors, i.e. the shortest distance across a directed acyclic graph representing the computation steps.

Examples :

"The span of time needed to complete the entire family project, if everyone could work on it simultaneously, was only one week. "

computing technology time math science

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verb

To extend through the distance between or across.

Examples :

"The suspension bridge spanned the canyon."

area space geography place

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verb

To extend through (a time period).

Examples :

"The novel spans three centuries."

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verb

To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.

Examples :

"to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder"

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verb

To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.

Examples :

"The set of all possible student scores on the math test spans a wide range of abilities. "

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verb

To be matched, as horses.

Examples :

"The two brothers' running speeds span, meaning they can both finish a race in roughly the same time. "

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verb

To fetter, as a horse; to hobble.

Examples :

"The farmer had to span the runaway horse to prevent it from causing further damage. "

animal agriculture

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verb

To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.

Examples :

"I spun myself around a few times."

action direction

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verb

To make yarn by twisting and winding fibers together.

Examples :

"They spin the cotton into thread."

material process industry

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verb

To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant, so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.

Examples :

"The teacher spanned the history of the Civil Rights Movement, focusing only on the positive contributions of certain individuals to give a simplified view of a complex issue. "

communication media attitude language

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verb

(of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways when it bounces on the pitch.

Examples :

"The bowler span the ball, making it curve to the right as it bounced. "

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verb

(of a ball) To move sideways when bouncing.

Examples :

"The bouncy ball span to the left as it bounced off the table. "

sport physics action

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verb

To form into thin strips or ribbons, as with sugar

Examples :

"The baker carefully spanned the melted sugar into thin ribbons for the Christmas cookies. "

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verb

To form (a web, a cocoon, silk, etc.) from threads produced by the extrusion of a viscid, transparent liquid, which hardens on coming into contact with the air; said of the spider, the silkworm, etc.

Examples :

"The spider span a delicate web across the corner of the room. "

animal biology insect nature organism science

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verb

To shape, as malleable sheet metal, into a hollow form, by bending or buckling it by pressing against it with a smooth hand tool or roller while the metal revolves, as in a lathe.

Examples :

"The metalworker carefully spanned the sheet of copper, creating a shallow bowl for the flower arrangement. "

material technology industry machine process work

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verb

To move swiftly.

Examples :

"to spin along the road in a carriage, on a bicycle, etc."

action way energy

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verb

To stream or issue in a thread or a small current or jet.

Examples :

"Blood spins from a vein."

technology communication media internet computing

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verb

To wait in a loop until some condition becomes true.

Examples :

"The program will span until the user enters a valid age. "

computing technology process

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verb

To play (vinyl records, etc.) as a disc jockey.

Examples :

"The DJ will span the latest pop songs at the school dance. "

music entertainment

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verb

To use an exercise bicycle, especially as part of a gym class.

Examples :

"The physical education teacher asked the students to span the stationary bikes during the class. "

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verb

An abnormal condition in journal bearings where the bearing seizes to the shaft that is rotating and rotates inside the journal, destroying both the shaft and the journal.

Examples :

"The faulty bearing in the machine shop's lathe spanned the shaft, causing significant damage to both the shaft and the journal. "

technical machine industry condition