elongate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
elongates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
elongated,
past participle, past
-
elongating
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
elongates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
elongated,
past participle, past
-
elongating
present participle
adjective
-
extended; lengthened.
-
long and thin.
verb
adjective
-
long and narrow; slender
elongate leaves
-
lengthened or tapered
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
elongatesimple
-
elongatessimple
-
have elongatedperfect
-
has elongatedperfect
-
am elongatingprogressive
-
are elongatingprogressive
-
is elongatingprogressive
-
have been elongatingperfect progressive
-
has been elongatingperfect progressive
Past
-
elongatedsimple
-
had elongatedperfect
-
was elongatingprogressive
-
were elongatingprogressive
-
had been elongatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of elongate
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
Explanation
When you lengthen or extend something, you elongate it. A yoga teacher might encourage you to reach up as high as you can, so that you elongate your spine. The verb elongate means "to make long or longer," and it stems from the Late Latin elongare, "to extend or prolong." When you stretch something out, especially when it's longer than it is wide, you can say you elongate it. This word can also apply to non-tangible things: Your principal might elongate the semester if you have too many snow days, and you might elongate your vowels when speaking a foreign language. In science, it's also used as an adjective, for long, narrow creatives like elongate fish (otherwise known as eels).
Vocabulary lists containing elongate
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator
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Hide and Seeker
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Women in Space
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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.
See Examples For:
Fifa was able to elongate a matchday at either end, with games scheduled over a 14-hour period so it could stay true to exclusive time windows for television coverage.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
“If Intel’s view of CPU-to-GPU reaching parity with agents proves right, we think that can help elongate the memory cycle,” Sankar said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026
Time indoors looking at screens can cause eyeballs to elongate, leaving kids nearsighted for life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
“I wish that these big organizations were looking into these things differently, because you could elongate careers and elongate lives,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2025
They elongate their wings, hiss and hiccup, then fly toward me.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
In males, it grows from a small cluster of cells into a little white pimple that elongates between the eyes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2025
Near-sightedness, formally known as myopia, occurs when the eye elongates, causing light to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it, producing blurry vision.
From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2025
The exquisite chamber-soul arrangement thrums inexorably yet with zero hurry; the vocal precisely elongates each phrase just a tick or two beyond where you expect.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2025
So it elongates, causing the light rays to fall in front of the retina and the myopia to progress.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2023
And someone’s mouth elongates heavy, silent words through the barrier of glass.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
And AI is forcing us all to ponder: What are we supposed to do with our elongated lives if technology wipes out the jobs that once gave us purpose?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Some viewers were fascinated with Argentine sports commentator Andrés Cantor’s elongated “¡gooool!” cheer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
So if you want a window moved or the bathroom expanded or the roof over the porch elongated, that change order would cost you about $2,000, on average.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
The spider has elongated structures extending from its abdomen and a pale coloration that gives it the appearance of fungal growth.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 17, 2026
Even though he was familiar with the layout of the mobile home site, the elongated shadows made the chaha’oh appear sinister.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
“The drivers of HDD demand are broadening, visibility is elongating, pricing is strengthening, and our new bull cases are coming closer into play,” Woodring wrote.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
Traditionally, skiers negotiate the steepest terrain of a course by feathering their skis at a slight diagonal and elongating their stride to help them conserve energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
It felt wonderful, as if my spine were elongating, all the stress draining from my back.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2025
At the BJK Cup in Malaga, Raducanu spoke about tweaking her service motion and elongating the takeback in a search for extra power.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025
Two o'clock and the whole corner of the peninsula was blazing with light which fell unreal on the shrubbery and made thin elongating glints upon the roadside wires.
From " The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald
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.
