The total distance from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other wing when fully stretched out, especially on birds and aircraft.
Compound of wing + span. Span comes from Old English spannan (to extend), making the word literally describe the distance the wings 'extend' across.
The albatross has the largest wingspan of any living bird at up to 11 feet—they ride ocean winds with those massive wings for thousands of miles without flapping much, showing how perfectly evolution designs creatures for their environment.
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