stretching
n. uncountablen. the act of pulling your body or a piece of material to make it longer or wider. You usually do this before or after exercise to keep your muscles flexible.
n. the act of extending one's limbs or body to its full length, or the physical elongation of a material under tension.
Daily stretching helps keep your muscles flexible.
After sitting at a desk for eight hours, a few minutes of gentle stretching can relieve tension in your lower back.
While static stretching was once the standard warm-up, many athletes now prefer dynamic movements to prepare their muscles for the physiological demands of high-intensity competition.
From Middle English strecching, strecchinge, equivalent to stretch + -ing.
From Middle English strecchinge, strecchynge, from Old English streċċende, from Proto-West Germanic strakkjandī, present participle of strakkjan (“to stretch”), equivalent to stretch + -ing.
Typically functions as an uncountable gerund-noun; when referring to specific exercises, it often appears in the phrase 'stretching exercises'.