enlarge
Americanverb (used with object)
-
enlarges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enlarged,
past participle, past
-
enlarging
present participle
-
to make larger; increase in extent, bulk, or quantity; add to.
They enlarged the house by adding an east wing.
- Antonyms:
- diminish
-
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)
-
enlarges,
present (3rd person singular)
-
enlarged,
past participle, past
-
enlarging
present participle
-
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
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unenlargedadjective
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unenlargingadjective
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enlargedlyadverb
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enlarginglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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enlargesimple
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enlargessimple
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have enlargedperfect
-
has enlargedperfect
-
am enlargingprogressive
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are enlargingprogressive
-
is enlargingprogressive
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have been enlargingperfect progressive
-
has been enlargingperfect progressive
Past
-
enlargedsimple
-
had enlargedperfect
-
was enlargingprogressive
-
were enlargingprogressive
-
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:
At the township’s land use board meeting earlier this month, Trump’s lawyers and planners asked for waivers to enlarge the main building on the property from 26,000 square feet to 54,000 square feet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 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
The team also discovered that EXO1 works alongside another protein called MRE11 to enlarge DNA gaps and generate dangerous DNA breaks.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 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
His consciousness grasped at a wisp of another warm memory, and tried desperately to hold it there, to enlarge it and pass it into Gabriel.
From "The Giver" by Lois Lowry
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
"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
As a performance piece for Timur, it further enlarges the transformational promise that Julia Bullock and Davóne Tines demonstrated in their recent staged recitals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2024
The cell enlarges, begins making new DNA at a great rate, and turns into what is termed, appropriately, a blast.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
If an atomic nucleus were enlarged to the size of a football stadium, the experiment's highest resolution would be fine enough to distinguish features only a few yards wide on the field.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 12, 2026
He clutched a photo of his late wife that had been enlarged for the television cameras.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
She suffered another major personal trauma in 2023 when her younger brother Jansen died, reportedly due to an enlarged heart.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 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
The stage makeup enlarged her eyes; enormous and hazel, they fixed on him and did not waver.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
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
"I think given where we are, we do need to be thinking and talking about extending it or enlarging it," the Labour peer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 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
Instead, ports are considering extending the life of old equipment by updating technology systems or enlarging cranes so they can load and unload larger containerships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
I feel my eyes getting rounder and rounder, the pupils enlarging like an owl’s: for an hour I’ve been looking at slides, yellowy, sometimes unfocused slides of white marble women with flat-topped heads.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
