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
Resting her head on her hip, and with her paw splayed out across her lap, Summer looks up lovingly towards Elianna.—Mark Joseph, Newsweek, 24 Feb. 2025 Squares of eel are splayed over a torched, cut California roll with a mascarpone foam and the restaurant’s chile eel sauce.—Jenn Harris, Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2025
Noun
The wide toe box for foot splay and limited structure allows the foot to naturally strengthen.—Tim Newcomb, Forbes, 6 Mar. 2025 Her legs splay, tilt and leap readily into pratfall action.—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2024 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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