elongate

[ ih-lawng-geyt, ih-long-, ee-lawng-geyt, ee-long- ]

verb (used with object)

, e·lon·gat·ed, e·lon·gat·ing.

1. to draw out to greater length; lengthen; extend.

verb (used without object)

, e·lon·gat·ed, e·lon·gat·ing.

1. to increase in length.

adjective

1. extended; lengthened.
2. long and thin.

elongate

/ ˈiːlɒŋɡeɪt /

verb

1. to make or become longer; stretch

adjective

1. long and narrow; slender

   elongate leaves

2. lengthened or tapered

Other Words From

• e·lon·ga·tive [ee, -lawng-gey-tiv, ee, -long-], adjective
• sube·longate adjective
• sube·longat·ed adjective
• une·longat·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of elongate¹

1530–40; < Late Latin ēlongātus lengthened out, past participle of ēlongāre to make longer, make distant, remove, equivalent to Latin ē- e- ¹ + -longāre, derivative of longus long ¹, longē far off

Word History and Origins

Origin of elongate¹

C16: from Late Latin ēlongāre to keep at a distance, from ē- away + Latin longē (adv) far, but also later: to lengthen, as if from ē- + Latin longus (adj) long

Example Sentences

When you’ve absolutely got to hit a word count, it’s just so easy to elongate your work by adding in superfluous, unnecessary words so that an idea that should be a brief 10-word sentence ends up being an entire paragraph—like this one.

From Popular-Science

Finally Bryant — 6-foot-6, 212 pounds of long, sinewy muscle — picks up a ball, takes a bunch of steps behind the half-court line, trots four long paces forward, elongates his arms, pushes forward, and … and … and …“Gimme my money!”

From FiveThirtyEight

Gently squeeze and press from the center toward the ends to elongate the roll slightly and even out thickness.

From Eater

They prove the power of intuitive user experiences that integrate media, merchandising and content to eliminate the steps that add friction to the customer journey and elongate the buying process.

From Digiday

The tiny plant, which will never grow leaves or roots, elongates in a spindly spiral.

From Science News

By keeping Brody alive, Gansa and his team have forced themselves to elongate his romantic relationship with Carrie as well.

From The Daily Beast

And it's easier to delay something than to make something happen, so things tended to elongate rather than abbreviate.

From The Daily Beast

As an adaptation to saltation the tibia would elongate at the expense of the femur and the index would be more than 100.

From Project Gutenberg

Bush inhabitants include several species of lizards and snakes, all of which have rather elongate, slender bodies, and long tails.

From Project Gutenberg

These mites are elongate in form, have rudimentary mouth-parts and but four legs.

From Project Gutenberg

Subcortical; hexapod; antenn obsolete: body much depressed, with the last segment elongate, terminating in three or more mucros.

From Project Gutenberg

These loops, even when made as perfectly as possible, have a tendency to elongate, thus spoiling the adjustment of the wires.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• draw out
• lengthen