Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Stretcher \Stretch"er\, n.
   1. One who, or that which, stretches.

   2. (Masonry) A brick or stone laid with its longer dimension
      in the line of direction of the wall. --Gwilt.

   3. (Arch.) A piece of timber used in building.

   4. (Naut.)
      (a) A narrow crosspiece of the bottom of a boat against
          which a rower braces his feet.
      (b) A crosspiece placed between the sides of a boat to
          keep them apart when hoisted up and griped. --Dana.

   5. A litter, or frame, for carrying disabled, wounded, or
      dead persons.

   6. An overstretching of the truth; a lie. [Slang]

   7. One of the rods in an umbrella, attached at one end to one
      of the ribs, and at the other to the tube sliding upon the
      handle.

   8. An instrument for stretching boots or gloves.

   9. The frame upon which canvas is stretched for a painting.

Source : WordNet®

stretcher
     n 1: a wooden framework on which canvas is stretched and fixed
          for oil painting
     2: a mechanical device used to make something larger (as shoes
        or gloves) by stretching it
     3: a litter for transporting people who are ill or wounded or
        dead; usually consists of a sheet of canvas stretched
        between two poles
     4: a stone that forms the top of wall or building [syn: {capstone},
         {copestone}, {coping stone}]