stretch one's legs

verb

To walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down.

“I needed to stretch my legs after spending all day sitting around in meetings.”

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verbstretch one's legs (third-person singular simple present stretches one's legs, present participle stretching one's legs, simple past and past participle stretched one's legs)

present singular third person stretches one's legs · participle present stretching one's legs · participle past stretched one's legs · past stretched one's legs

  1. idiomaticTo walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down.

    I needed to stretch my legs after spending all day sitting around in meetings.

    2 more examples

    In the interval between Sunday School and Church when the congregation stretched its legs, I saw Atticus standing in the yard with another knot of men.

    1960 July 11, Harper Lee, chapter 15, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC

    Finally, after nearly two and a half hours on the same train, I have the chance to stretch my legs at Taunton while I wait for the Bristol service.

    2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 66

Translations

French s'étirer les jambes
  • s'étirer les jambesto walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
German sich die Beine vertreten
  • sich die Beine vertretento walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
Māori hōkari
  • hōkarito walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
Polish rozprostować kości
  • rozprostować kościto walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
Romanian a-şi dezmorți picioarele, a face o plimbare
  • a-şi dezmorți picioareleto walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
  • a face o plimbareto walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
  • a face o plimbăricăto walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
Russian размя́ть но́ги
  • размя́ть но́ги (razmjátʹ nógi)to walk about, especially after prolonged time sitting or lying down
Cite this entry
APA

stretch one's legs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stretch%20one's%20legs

MLA

“stretch one's legs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stretch%20one's%20legs. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stretch one's legs,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stretch%20one's%20legs.

Source: stretch one's legs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.