Verb
He sat with his legs splayed apart.
She splayed her fingers to show off her manicure.
His fingers splayed out over the table as he steadied himself.
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Verb
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 Officers found Williams splayed across the hood of a nearby car, suffering horrific injuries.—Eric Umansky, ProPublica, 11 Mar. 2025
Noun
On the run, what stood out most was the generous forefoot width: the upper allows enough splay to wear full CorrectToes comfortably and the base is wide enough underfoot for a confident stance and powerful toe-off without any tippiness.—Jonathan Beverly, Outside Online, 12 Mar. 2025 The wide toe box for foot splay and limited structure allows the foot to naturally strengthen.—Tim Newcomb, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for splay
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English splaien "to unfurl, spread out, spread-eagle, split (a fish) lengthwise and lay open," aphetic form of displaien "to unfurl (a banner), spread (the arms), display entry 1"
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