extender

[ik-sten-der]

noun

1. a substance added to another substance, as to paint or food, to increase its volume or bulk.

   to add cereal and soy protein to hamburger as extenders.

2. Photography.,  converter8

extender

/ ɪkˈstɛndə /

noun

1. a person or thing that extends

2. a substance, such as French chalk or china clay, added to paints to give them body and decrease their rate of settlement

3. a substance added to glues and resins to dilute them or to modify their viscosity

4. a substance added to elastomers to assist the plasticizer

5. printing the part of certain lower-case letters that extends either above (the ascender) or below (the descender) the body of the letter

Word History and Origins

Origin of extender¹

First recorded in 1605–15; extend + -er ¹

Example Sentences

That stacks onto other concerns of travel including needing a seat belt extender, where to purchase affordable plus-size clothes if luggage is lost, the distance from the airport entrance to the terminal, and seat accessibility on public transportation.

From Los Angeles Times

Find a duster extender or ladder to make sure you can reach the ceiling and the tops of cabinets and refrigerators.

From Los Angeles Times

Squish factor: The off-road Jeep tour didn’t have a seatbelt extender, so I had to sit in the front seat to fit comfortably.

From Salon

“Oh! You can’t sit in an exit row with a seat belt extender!”

From Seattle Times

A precision router — the electric power tool, not the Wi-Fi internet extender — traced the vertical cracks, smoothing and leveling hairline breaks in the wood.

From Los Angeles Times