FAN OUT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fan out mean? 

• FAN OUT (verb)
  The verb FAN OUT has 1 sense:

1. move outward

  Familiarity information: FAN OUT used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FAN OUT (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move outward

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

diffuse; fan out; spread; spread out

Context example:

The soldiers fanned out

Hypernyms (to "fan out" is one way to...):

distribute; spread (distribute or disperse widely)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "fan out"):

percolate (spread gradually)

creep (grow or spread, often in such a way as to cover (a surface))

bleed; run (be diffused)

mantle (spread over a surface, like a mantle)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

 Context examples 

From June 1 through July 15, researchers from across North America will fan out each evening across the Great Plains, where storms are more common at night than during the day.

(Scientists tackle mystery of thunderstorms that strike at night, NSF)

As a Gemini, you are known to love to do things in twos, so why not fan out and explore another city while away?

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)