spread oneself thin

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Meaning · English

To take on too many tasks or responsibilities at once

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Chịu quá nhiều nhiệm vụ hoặc trách nhiệm cùng lúc

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: to stretch oneself out thinly
Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

She's trying to manage three projects simultaneously and is starting to spread herself thin

AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Sources & notes

Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.

Common questions

What does “spread oneself thin” mean?

To take on too many tasks or responsibilities at once Literally: to stretch oneself out thinly

Is “spread oneself thin” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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