extend
Americanverb (used with object)
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to stretch out; draw out to the full length.
He extended the measuring tape as far as it would go.
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to stretch, draw, or arrange in a given direction, or so as to reach a particular point, as a cord, wall, or line of troops.
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to stretch forth or hold out, as the arm or hand.
to extend one's hand in greeting.
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to place at full length, especially horizontally, as the body or limbs.
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to increase the length or duration of; lengthen; prolong.
to extend a visit.
- Synonyms:
- continue
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to stretch out in various or all directions; expand; spread out in area.
A huge tent was extended over the field.
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to enlarge the scope of, or make more comprehensive, as operations, influence, or meaning.
The European powers extended their authority in Asia.
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to provide as an offer or grant; offer; grant; give.
to extend aid to needy scholars.
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Finance. to postpone (the payment of a debt) beyond the time originally agreed upon.
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to increase the bulk or volume of, especially by adding an inexpensive or plentiful substance.
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Bookkeeping. to transfer (figures) from one column to another.
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Law.
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British. to assess or value.
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to make a seizure or levy upon, as land, by a writ of extent.
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Manège. to bring (a horse) into an extended attitude.
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to exert (oneself ) to an unusual degree.
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Archaic. to exaggerate.
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Obsolete. to take by seizure.
verb (used without object)
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to be or become extended; stretch out in length, duration, or in various or all directions.
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to reach, as to a particular point.
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to increase in length, area, scope, etc.
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Manège. (of a horse) to come into an extended attitude.
verb
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to draw out or be drawn out; stretch
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to last for a certain time
his schooling extended for three years
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(intr) to reach a certain point in time or distance
the land extends five miles
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(intr) to exist or occur
the trees extended throughout the area
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(tr) to increase (a building, etc) in size or area; add to or enlarge
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(tr) to broaden the meaning or scope of
the law was extended
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(tr) to put forth, present, or offer
to extend greetings
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to stretch forth (an arm, etc)
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(tr) to lay out (a body) at full length
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(tr) to strain or exert (a person or animal) to the maximum
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(tr) to prolong (the time originally set) for payment of (a debt or loan), completion of (a task), etc
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(tr) accounting
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to carry forward
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to calculate the amount of (a total, balance, etc)
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(tr) law (formerly in England) to value or assess (land)
Related Words
See lengthen.
Other Word Forms
- extendability noun
- extendable adjective
- extendibility noun
- extendible adjective
- nonextendible adjective
- nonextendibleness noun
- preextend verb
- superextend verb
- unextendable adjective
- unextendible adjective
Etymology
Origin of extend
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English extenden, from Latin extendere “to stretch out.” See ex- 1, tend 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Team USA took the opposite approach, turning its string of wins into an extended chance to replace “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” with “God Bless America.”
From Salon
Although I was adopted, I now know my extended birth family, and none of them have cancer.
From BBC
In a post on X, Pezeshkian extended his condolences to the Iranian people over the officials' deaths, adding he was "certain their path will continue more steadfastly than before".
From BBC
Hidden hands sent the acute and observant Defoe to “gather and dispatch intelligence,” Mr. Mierowsky writes, “extending in the process Westminster’s reach across the British Isles.”
"The effective threat envelope Iran can generate already extends well beyond the narrows," said Ozberk.
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
