stretcher
Other forms: stretchers
In a hospital, a stretcher is a device used to carry a person who must lie flat and can't move on their own. It takes two strong people to carry a patient on a stretcher.
Although the words are sometimes used interchangeably, a stretcher is different from a gurney, which is fitted with wheels and can be moved by a single person. Stretchers are more portable and tend to be used in emergency situations, especially on battlefields and in wilderness search-and-rescue operations. When an artist, (rather than a doctor or ambulance driver) uses the word stretcher, they generally mean "wooden frame on which a canvas is stretched for painting."
Definitions of stretcher
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a litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched between two poles
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a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed for oil paintingtype of:frameworka structure supporting or containing something
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a mechanical device used to make something larger (as shoes or gloves) by stretching ittype of:mechanical devicemechanism consisting of a device that works on mechanical principles
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a stone that forms the top of wall or buildingsynonyms: capstone, copestone, coping stonetype of:stonebuilding material consisting of a piece of rock hewn in a definite shape for a special purpose
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