Dictionary

The space from the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; an eighth of a fathom.

(by extension) A small space or a brief portion of time.

Example: He has a short attention span and gets bored within minutes.

A portion of something by length; a subsequence.

The spread or extent of an arch or between its abutments, or of a beam, girder, truss, roof, bridge, or the like, between supports.

To extend through the distance between or across.

Example: The suspension bridge spanned the canyon.

To extend through (a time period).

Example: The novel spans three centuries.

To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object.

Example: to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder

To generate an entire space by means of linear combinations.

To rotate, revolve, gyrate (usually quickly); to partially or completely rotate to face another direction.

Example: I spun myself around a few times.

To make yarn by twisting and winding fibers together.

Example: They spin the cotton into thread.

To present, describe, or interpret, or to introduce a bias or slant, so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance.

(of a bowler) To make the ball move sideways when it bounces on the pitch.