the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended.
a unit of length corresponding to this distance, commonly taken as 9 inches (23 centimeters).
a distance, amount, piece, etc., of this length or of some small extent.
a span of lace.
Civil Engineering, Architecture.
the distance between two supports of a structure.
the structure so supported.
the distance or space between two supports of a bridge.
the full extent, stretch, or reach of anything.
a long span of memory.
Aeronautics. the distance between the wing tips of an airplane.
a limited space of time, as the term or period of living.
Our span on earth is short.
Mathematics. the smallest subspace of a vector space that contains a given element or set of elements.
to measure by the hand with the thumb and little finger extended.
to encircle with the hand or hands, as the waist.
to extend over or across (a section of land, a river, etc.).
to provide with something that extends over.
to span a river with a bridge.
to extend or reach over (space or time).
a memory that spans 90 years.
Mathematics. to function (in a subspace of a vector space) as a span.
Archery. to bend (the bow) in preparation for shooting.
Spaniard.
Spanish.
the interval, space, or distance between two points, such as the ends of a bridge or arch
the complete duration or extent
the span of his life
psychol the amount of material that can be processed in a single mental act
apprehension span
span of attention
short for wingspan
a unit of length based on the width of an expanded hand, usually taken as nine inches
to stretch or extend across, over, or around
to provide with something that extends across or around
to span a river with a bridge
to measure or cover, esp with the extended hand
See pair.
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun spanne, sponne, spayn, Old English span(n), spon(n); cognate with German Spanne, Dutch span, Old Norse spǫnn; the verb is derivative of the noun
An Americanism dating to 1760–70; from Dutch: “team (of oxen, horses)”
Any distance between two things is called a span. These end points can be physical, like the span of a rope between two trees, or they can be more abstract, such as the span of time between five and six o'clock. Span comes from the Old English spann, the width of the stretched-out hand, measured from thumb to little finger. It came to refer to various other measurements, such as the distance across an arch. The first reference to a length of time came in the late 16th century, and the phrase "attention span" first appeared in 1922 (as "span of attention").
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The allegations against Sullivan from seven women span decades, starting in the 1980s.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
Given their limited attention span, the last thing a child needs is a film chock-full of loose ends to distract from the crux of the story.
From Salon • Jun. 6, 2026
It distinguishes Marvell from companies that may have seen explosive increases in their market caps over a short span but that might struggle to maintain those levels in a normalized environment.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 4, 2026
During the closure, no traffic was allowed on 6.8-mile span from just north of Lucia until about a mile south of the Esalen Institute.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
The divide between this car and the next seems immense, a great span over eternity.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
