spread-eagle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a representation of an eagle with its wings and legs extended

   A painted spread-eagle occupied the center of the old sign.

2. 2
   adj

   positioned with the arms and legs stretched widely apart

   He landed spread-eagle on the soft grass.

3. 3
   adj

   dated, especially US: bombastic or boastfully patriotic in style

   The speaker delivered a spread-eagle tribute to national greatness.

4. 4
   verb

   to stretch or place with the arms and legs spread apart

   The guards spread-eagled the suspect against the wall during the search.

From the heraldic spread eagle, an eagle shown with wings and legs extended. The dated bombastic sense developed in the United States from the eagle as a national emblem.

Topics

External links

• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary
• Google Images