fan out
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to fan out: Propagation delay
Like this video? Subscribe to our free daily email and get a new idiom video every day!
fan out
1. To spread out over a certain area. Fan out and search the entire neighborhood!
2. To spread something out. Fan out all the pages so that I can figure out what's missing.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
fan something out
to spread something out so that all parts can be seen better. (As one opens a wood and paper fan.) Todd fanned the cards out so we could see which ones he held. He fanned out the cards.
fan out (from some place)
to spread outward from a particular area. The paths seem to fan out from the wide trail that starts at the house. The trails fanned out and soon we were all separated.
fan out
Fig. to spread out over a wide area. The searchers fanned out, looking for the child lost in the woods. Let's fan out and search a wider area.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
fan out
v.
1. To move or project outward from a central source or point: The troops landed on the beachhead and fanned out.
2. To lay out or place something in a fanlike shape: I fanned the cards out on the table. They fanned out the photos on the desk so we could see them.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.