span

9 definitions • 17 examples

the period of time that something exists or happens:

attention/concentration span He has a short attention/concentration span.

life span an average lifespan of 70 years

over a span of Over a span of just three years, the new government has transformed the country's economic prospects.

the length of something from one end to the other:

huge wings with a span of over a metre

the area of a bridge, etc. between two supports:

The bridge crosses the river in a single span.

past simple of

to exist or continue for a particular length of time:

Tennis has a history spanning several centuries.

Her acting career spanned almost six decades.

If a bridge spans a river, it goes from one side to the other:

An old bridge spans the river just outside the town.

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Her apartment is usually so spick and span.

Three hours later, everything was spick and span.

My dad kept the house spick and span.

In the kitchen, everything is spick and span.

Her bedroom is spick and span, just how she likes it.

It's a tiny red-brick house and she keeps it spick and span.

the length of something:

A lifetime is a span of about seventy years.

The Rangers scored three goals in the span of five minutes.

A span is also the distance between two points, esp. between the structures that hold up a bridge:

In 1855, an 850-foot span was built to carry trains across the gorge.