stretch mark

noun

Any of a series of red (or purple or faded), irregular stripes on the surface of the skin caused by rapid growth of the tissues lying just underneath. They may appear as a result of pregnancy, puberty, obesity, rapid muscle growth or family history.

“Nobody in Cameron's family has stretch marks, and he thinks it's because their tissues grow slowly enough for the skin to catch up.”

Similar
striastriaestriae atrophicaestriae distensaestriae gravidarumvergetures
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Meanings

nounstretch mark (plural stretch marks)

plural stretch marks

  1. dermatologyAny of a series of red (or purple or faded), irregular stripes on the surface of the skin caused by rapid growth of the tissues lying just underneath. They may appear as a result of pregnancy, puberty, obesity, rapid muscle growth or family history.

    Nobody in Cameron's family has stretch marks, and he thinks it's because their tissues grow slowly enough for the skin to catch up.

    1 more example

    She hadn't even looked pregnant, especially with her clothes on. She'd gotten only one stretch mark. A thin, jagged line on her left booty cheek.

    2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 99

    Synonyms: stria, striae, striae atrophicae, striae distensae, striae gravidarum, vergetures

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAny of a series of red (or purple or faded), irregular stripes on the surface of the skin caused by rapid growth of the tissues lying just underneath. They may appear as a result of pregnancy, puberty, obesity, rapid muscle growth or family history.

Similar
striastriaestriae atrophicaestriae distensaestriae gravidarumvergetures

Translations

Arabic عَلَامَة تَمَدُّد, عَلَامَة مَطّ
  • عَلَامَة تَمَدُّدstripes on the surface of the skin
  • عَلَامَة مَطّstripes on the surface of the skin
Catalan estria
  • estriastripes on the surface of the skin
Chinese Mandarin 萎縮紋 /萎缩纹, 妊娠紋 /妊娠纹
  • 萎縮紋 /萎缩纹 (wěisuōwén)stripes on the surface of the skin
  • 妊娠紋 /妊娠纹 (rènshēnwén)stripes on the surface of the skin
Dutch striae
  • striaestripes on the surface of the skin
Finnish arpijuova, raskausarpi
  • arpijuovastripes on the surface of the skin
  • raskausarpistripes on the surface of the skin
French vergeture
  • vergeturestripes on the surface of the skin
German Dehnungsstreifen
  • Dehnungsstreifenstripes on the surface of the skin
Greek ραγάδα
  • ραγάδα (ragáda)stripes on the surface of the skin
Italian smagliatura
  • smagliaturastripes on the surface of the skin
Norwegian Bokmål strekkmerke
  • strekkmerkestripes on the surface of the skin
Polish rozstęp
  • rozstępstripes on the surface of the skin
Portuguese estria
  • estriastripes on the surface of the skin
Romanian vergeturi
  • vergeturistripes on the surface of the skin
Spanish estría
  • estríastripes on the surface of the skin
Swedish hudbristning, bristning
  • hudbristningstripes on the surface of the skin
  • bristningstripes on the surface of the skin
Turkish çatlak, vücut çatlağı
  • çatlakstripes on the surface of the skin
  • vücut çatlağıstripes on the surface of the skin
Cite this entry
APA

stretch mark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stretch%20mark

MLA

“stretch mark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stretch%20mark. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stretch mark,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stretch%20mark.

Source: stretch mark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.