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

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Scores of Chinese warships and aircraft are fanning out this week around Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the South China Sea as part of a massive Chinese military exercise. —

Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 11 Dec. 2024 Dozens of biologists will fan out across the western Joshua tree’s range and take measurements from each population to assess how the plants are doing, with the goal of returning every seven years to measure changes over time. —

Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2024 In the early 1850s, thousands of prospectors fanned out across the Western U.S. in search of gold. —

Greg McKenna, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2024 In the weeks ahead of the election, busloads of Democratic canvassers fanned out across Luzerne County. —

Philip Montgomery, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fan out