enlarge
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to make larger; increase in extent, bulk, or quantity; add to.
They enlarged the house by adding an east wing.
- Antonyms:
- diminish
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to increase the capacity or scope of; expand.
We've decided to enlarge the company.
- Antonyms:
- contract
-
to make (a photographic print) larger than the negative by projecting the negative's image through a lens onto photographic printing paper.
verb (used without object)
-
to grow larger; increase; expand.
-
to speak or write at large; expatiate.
to enlarge upon a point.
verb
-
to make or grow larger in size, scope, etc; increase or expand
-
(tr) to make (a photographic print) of a larger size than the negative
-
(intr; foll by on or upon) to speak or write (about) in greater detail; expatiate (on)
Usage
What are other ways to say enlarge?
To enlarge something is to make it larger or to add to it. How does enlarge differ from increase and augment? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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enlargednessnoun
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reenlargeverb
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preenlargeverb (used with object)
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enlargeableadjective
-
unenlargedadjective
-
unenlargingadjective
-
enlargedlyadverb
-
enlarginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enlargesimple
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enlargessimple
-
have enlargedperfect
-
has enlargedperfect
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am enlargingprogressive
-
are enlargingprogressive
-
is enlargingprogressive
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have been enlargingperfect progressive
-
has been enlargingperfect progressive
Past
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enlargedsimple
-
had enlargedperfect
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was enlargingprogressive
-
were enlargingprogressive
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had been enlargingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of enlarge
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English enlargen, from Old French enlargir, enlarger. See en- 1, large
Explanation
When you enlarge something, you make it bigger. If you build a huge addition on the side of your house, you enlarge it. You can enlarge a sand castle by dumping another bucket of sand on it, or enlarge your hairdo by curling and teasing it. When a photographer enlarges a photograph, she blows it up, or prints a much larger copy of it, and you can also enlarge an idea, or someone's understanding of it, by clarifying or explaining it. The Old French root of enlarge is enlargier, "to widen, increase, or make larger."
Vocabulary lists containing enlarge
myPerspectives 7.3
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: en-, em-
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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:
But it can’t enlarge the pie: Each baseball season still has 2,430 regular season chances to win.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The very history he so powerfully invokes to explain the 14th Amendment’s origins often becomes, in his jurisprudence, a reason to limit rather than enlarge its reach.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
Adenomyosis, is a condition often compared to endometriosis and occurs when where endometrial-like tissue grows into the muscular wall of the uterus, causing it to thicken and enlarge.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Allison Febbo, general manager of Westlands Water District, said the plan to enlarge Shasta Dam “represents an important step toward advancing a long-overdue investment in water supply reliability.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
It's time to think bigger, to escalate the pamphlet campaign, to enlarge his circle so that more Germans learn the truth.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
In his office, the commanding officer enlarges an image showing a swarm of speedboats carrying out such an attack.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
Far from distorting democracy, this diversity of substantial support often enlarges the range of ideas in public debate.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
When WUS-D1 is turned on early in the formation of wheat flowers, it enlarges the developing floral tissue, allowing extra female structures such as pistils or ovaries to form.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2025
"Being part of Nato brings us on an equal footing with all the other allies. It enlarges the possibilities for Finnish companies in the defence sector and beyond."
From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2025
At times of famine, a single blepharisma will begin eating its neighbors; it then enlarges to an immense size and turns into a cannibalistic giant, straight out of any Norse fable.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
The issues were discussed during an enlarged meeting of the ruling party's central military commission on Thursday, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Under its proposal, Genesis shareholders would own roughly 60% of the enlarged company, with Vault investors holding the remainder.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Patients with enlarged arteries were more than four times more likely to have experienced a lacunar stroke.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 3, 2026
Finishes were changed, an enlarged primary suite was completed, an additional guest suite was added, and the guesthouse was completely remodeled, listing agent Greer previously explained.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 29, 2026
Leon led the doctor upstairs who descended some while later intangibly enlarged by his professional encounter with the core of all their concerns.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
If true, that would mean aging fat tissue could continue growing not just by enlarging existing cells, but by constantly adding new ones.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 27, 2026
Updating the calculations for gold’s recent epic run, investment consultants Nicholas Conant and Mark Wood of Callan gave the cube some benefit of the doubt by enlarging it with all of the bullion since mined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026
But if your elastic wrapping paper has a pattern on it, stretching it this way will distort the pattern, enlarging some parts and not others.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
All cells there have the inmate’s name and photo posted outside, but staffers had to take the additional step of enlarging Girardi’s photo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2025
But most asked few questions, being content to play what the dancing-master demanded; and most, like me, found pleasure in the old tunes and their enlarging.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
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.
