fan out

fan out (third-person singular simple present fans out, present participle fanning out, simple past and past participle fanned out)

1. (transitive, intransitive, also figurative) To spread out into the shape of a fan.
   • 1963 June, “News and Comment: Sheffield scheme progress”, in Modern Railways, page 368:

     West of the summit the cutting fans out at the entrance to the new yard on the north side.

   • 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 188, about Flamborough:

     Its streets fan out towards the clifftops, and its sheltered North Landing harbours open-decked fishing boats, called 'cobles'.

   • 2023 March 8, Chris Howe, “Building the platform for Old Oak Common's platforms”, in RAIL, number 978, page 60:

     Although the platforms for the station will be 450 metres, the full length of the 850-metre box is to allow the tracks to fan out and switches to be installed, so that the trains can reach each of the six platforms.

2. (slang) To display (or reveal) oneself as a fan or obsessive.
   • 2023 July 24, Elise Solé, “Should you worry if your teen is a 'stan'?”, in Today.com‎^[1]:

     A 2014 study published by Innovations in Clincal Neuroscience, however, pointed to "narcissistic features, dissociation, addictive tendencies, stalking behavior, and compulsive buying" among people who fan out over celebrities.

• Tufano