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:
Raducanu was now able to elongate the rallies - which always felt like it would be the key to her success - as Vekic's level dropped.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
In his view, price resets don’t indicate the end of the cycle, but rather a necessity to elongate the boom.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 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 seemed able to elongate as much as they wanted.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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
He elongates a tune into a precise tonal reckoning — no mishaps or blips on the cosmic screen.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
Brown shades of eye shadow appear on her lids, and mascara elongates her lashes.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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
“While obviously semis have run up substantially, we believe that this will be an elongated cycle and many areas are just getting started,” says Christopher Shaffer, managing partner at Talaria Capital Management.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
Eventually they discovered that an elongated teardrop shape, with the wide end oriented toward the magnet’s center, quadrupled the maximum potential acceleration to 300 steps, or 150 complete circuits.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
“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
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
“Proud,” Kamala Harris said, elongating the word and stretching its vowels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2024
He’s wearing an olive cap and army fatigues, and his curly, graying beard floats below his chin, elongating his tired features.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
