To extend across (a gap or space between two sides)

• Plenty of railways lines span the country.

  Tatoeba · sundown · CC BY 2.0 FR

• His research spans a wide range of fields.

  Tatoeba · sundown · CC BY 2.0 FR

To cover or extend over (an area or distance)

To extend through (a period of time)

To measure by the span of the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the objectредкое

To generate an entire space by means of linear combinationsредкое

To be matched, as horsesредкое

To fetter, as a horse; to hobbleредкое

The full width of an open hand from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger used as an informal unit of length

• Young children have short attention spans.

  У маленьких детей очень плохая концентрация внимания

  Tatoeba · CK · CC BY 2.0 FR

• A bridge further north spans the river.

  Дальше к северу через реку перекинут мост.

  Tatoeba · sundown · CC BY 2.0 FR

Any of various traditional units of length approximating this distance, especially the English handspan of 9 inches forming ⅛ fathom and equivalent to 22.86 cm

A small space or a brief portion of time