elongate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
adjective
-
extended; lengthened.
-
long and thin.
verb
adjective
-
long and narrow; slender
elongate leaves
-
lengthened or tapered
Other Word Forms
- elongative adjective
- subelongate adjective
- subelongated adjective
- unelongated adjective
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.
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
The tweak helped a sharper Swiatek elongate the rallies and put more pressure on Sabalenka's serve, with the Pole winning the next three games to move 5-4 ahead.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2025
The MPI scientists analyzed not just one, but three distinct formins originating from fungi, mice, and humans, which all elongate actin filaments at highly different speeds.
From Science Daily • Apr. 16, 2024
They elongate on the pale slender stalks of their longing, like sunflowers with heavy heads.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
