STRETCHER (stretcher)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: stretcher   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does stretcher mean? 

• STRETCHER (noun)
  The noun STRETCHER has 4 senses:

1. a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting

2. a mechanical device used to make something larger (as shoes or gloves) by stretching it

3. a litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between two poles

4. a stone that forms the top of wall or building

  Familiarity information: STRETCHER used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STRETCHER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil painting

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stretcher" is a kind of...):

frame; framework (a structure supporting or containing something)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A mechanical device used to make something larger (as shoes or gloves) by stretching it

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stretcher" is a kind of...):

mechanical device (mechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles)

Derivation:

stretch (make long or longer by pulling and stretching)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between two poles

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("stretcher" is a kind of...):

litter (conveyance consisting of a chair or bed carried on two poles by bearers)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "stretcher"):

gurney (a metal stretcher with wheels)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A stone that forms the top of wall or building

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

capstone; copestone; coping stone; stretcher

Hypernyms ("stretcher" is a kind of...):

stone (building material consisting of a piece of rock hewn in a definite shape for a special purpose)

Holonyms ("stretcher" is a part of...):

wall (an architectural partition with a height and length greater than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or to support another structure)

 Context examples 

There was one thwart set as low as possible, a kind of stretcher in the bows, and a double paddle for propulsion.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

In the foreground four solemn men in dress suits are walking along the sidewalk with a stretcher on which lies a drunken woman in a white evening dress.

(The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald)