Definition of spread:

part of speech: verb

To stretch or expand to a broader surface; to extend; to cover; to expand itself in all directions; to be extended or stretched; to circulate, as news or fame; to cause to be extensively known; to diffuse; to scatter over a surface; to fill or cover a wider space.

part of speech: noun

Extent; compass.

part of speech: noun

A covering.

Usage examples:

• One after another they came, and entered the quiet room until it was full of people; for the news spread from one to another of what had taken place. Johanna Spyri in "Rico And Wiseli Rico And Stineli, And How Wiseli Was Provided For".

• I could feel it whispering to itself, although it had not as yet spread its fire through me and awakened me into life. Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton in "What Dreams May Come".

• These views of his were spread far and wide. Henry Blake Fuller in "Under the Skylights".

• The natives, nevertheless, came to us from every quarter, the news of our arrival having rapidly spread Robert Kerr in "A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16".