fan out
phrasal verb
fanned out; fanning out; fans out
: to spread apart or to cause (something) to spread apart
The police fanned out across the park in search of the suspect.
He fanned out his fingers.
Examples of fan out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In January, thousands of volunteers fanned out across the county over three days to conduct LAHSA’s annual homelessness count.
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Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2024
Adams also said his administration is in the process of figuring out behind the scenes how much law enforcement personnel will need to fan out across the city to put the kibosh on illicit pot peddlers.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2024
After the event, volunteers fanned out to an array of nearby locations to engage in tasks such as cleaning up Coyote Creek and sprucing up and beautifying Kelley Park, which is home to both Happy Hollow and the Japanese Friendship Garden.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 1 June 2024
Over the next few decades a succession of military engineers, desperate for ancient artworks to decorate their own villas, gave orders to dig underground tunnels fanning out from the theater.
—Tomas Weber, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fan out 
Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2024
Adams also said his administration is in the process of figuring out behind the scenes how much law enforcement personnel will need to fan out across the city to put the kibosh on illicit pot peddlers.
—Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2024
After the event, volunteers fanned out to an array of nearby locations to engage in tasks such as cleaning up Coyote Creek and sprucing up and beautifying Kelley Park, which is home to both Happy Hollow and the Japanese Friendship Garden.
—George Avalos, The Mercury News, 1 June 2024
Over the next few decades a succession of military engineers, desperate for ancient artworks to decorate their own villas, gave orders to dig underground tunnels fanning out from the theater.
—Tomas Weber, Scientific American, 19 Mar. 2024
See all Example Sentences for fan out
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fan out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Fan out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fan%20out. Accessed 5 Jul. 2024.
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