extended

American  

[ik-sten-did] / ɪkˈstɛn dɪd /

adjective

1. stretched out.

   extended wires.

2. continued or prolonged.

   extended efforts.

3. spread out.

   extended flags.

4. widespread or extensive; having extension or spatial magnitude.

   extended treatment of a subject.

5. outstretched.

   extended arms.

6. Printing. expanded.

7. of or relating to a meaning of a word other than its original or primary meaning.

   an extended sense.

8. Manège.

   1. (of a moving horse) noting an elongated pose in which the legs reach out from the body, the chin is out from the chest, etc.

   2. (of the gait of a horse) characterized by long, low, usually fast strides.

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extended British  

/ ɪkˈstɛndɪd /

adjective

1. stretched out in time, space, influence, application, etc

2. (of a horse's pace) free-moving and with long steps

   an extended trot

3. printing another word for expanded

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Other Word Forms

• extendedly adverb
• extendedness noun
• nonextended adjective
• unextended adjective
• unextendedly adverb

Etymology

Origin of extended

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; extend + -ed ²

Explanation

Something that is extended has been fully stretched out or elongated. An extended period of time is an extremely long period of time. To extend something is to make it longer, either physically or in terms of time. Anything extended has been stretched out in this way. An extended rubber band will snap back or break. An extended hose can be used to put out a fire. If you live with your parents in your twenties, it's like an extended childhood.

Example Sentences

He added that opening hours had been extended to deal with the rush.

From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026

Within days, Zelenskyy extended similar agreements to the UAE and Qatar, sweeping the western shore of the Persian Gulf in a single diplomatic sprint.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

Now its shadow has extended over the New York state comptroller race.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026

The court heard how she and her extended family spent five days over Christmas 2011 at a house in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, because her ex-husband required hospital treatment and could not fly back to Nigeria.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

Mullineaux would later tell a Senate committee that “the lateral blast extended about three times farther than any such blast recorded by the geologic history of the volcano.”

From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone

Related Words

• continued
• drawn-out
• lengthy
• protracted