lengthen
Americanverb (used with object)
-
lengthens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lengthened,
past participle, past
-
lengthening
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
lengthens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lengthened,
past participle, past
-
lengthening
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
Lengthen, extend, stretch, prolong, protract agree in the idea of making longer. To lengthen is to make longer, either in a material or an immaterial sense: to lengthen a dress. To extend is to lengthen beyond some original point or so as to reach a certain point: to extend a railway line by a hundred miles. To stretch is primarily to lengthen by drawing or tension: to stretch a rubber band. Both prolong and protract mean especially to lengthen in time, and therefore apply to intangibles. To prolong is to continue beyond the desired, estimated, or allotted time: to prolong an interview. To protract is to draw out to undue length or to be slow in coming to a conclusion: to protract a discussion.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
lengthensimple
-
lengthenssimple
-
have lengthenedperfect
-
has lengthenedperfect
-
am lengtheningprogressive
-
are lengtheningprogressive
-
is lengtheningprogressive
-
have been lengtheningperfect progressive
-
has been lengtheningperfect progressive
Past
-
lengthenedsimple
-
had lengthenedperfect
-
was lengtheningprogressive
-
were lengtheningprogressive
-
had been lengtheningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lengthen
Explanation
To lengthen is to make something longer, either physically or in time. During the spring and early summer, the days lengthen, as sundown comes later and later. Mascara lengthens your eyelashes, and letting out your hem lengthens your jeans. As time goes by, your years of experience lengthen, and if you don't cut your hair or trim your beard, those lengthen as well. Lengthen dates from the 14th century — earlier, the verb was length, from a Germanic root that's also the basis of "long."
Vocabulary lists containing lengthen
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:
El Niño also is expected to lengthen the marine heat wave off portions of the coast, which is not yet being influenced by the climate pattern.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Companies have wide discretion to shorten or lengthen their fixed assets’ useful lives, which changes their yearly depreciation numbers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
Eccentric exercise focuses on the phase when muscles lengthen rather than shorten.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 2026
Airport security lines could lengthen as over 11% of TSA officers previously called out when unpaid, with some airports reaching 50%.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
I thicken Astrid's nose hair, and lengthen it so it pokes from each nostril like the stubble on a man's chin.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Treasury prices, which move in the opposite direction to yields, get more sensitive to risks as maturity lengthens.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
The enzyme telomerase lengthens telomeres, helping protect chromosomes and preventing cells from dying.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 1, 2026
The transaction lengthens a list of Latin American divestments in recent years including Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
Neser lengthens Australia's batting at number eight and has the experience of the Gabba being his home ground, but only Warne and McGrath have more wickets than Lyon in Brisbane.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
They run together, but at the end, the other girl finishes more strongly Her stride lengthens, and a man keeps yelling, “Go, Annie! Go, Annie! Dig ’em in, love!
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
AI has the ability to accelerate analysis and speed up work — but paradoxically, it’s lengthened the process of finding the right person for an open role in many cases.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
As necks lengthened over evolutionary time, the nerve was stretched rather than rerouted.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026
But Schulte told the BBC's World at One programme that individual governments had to make the decision to suspend the system, not airports themselves, adding that queues lengthened while such decisions were being made.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
The one concern with Mesidor are the injury issues that lengthened his stay in the college ranks to six years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026
He sawed and sawed, and the tape merely lengthened and didn’t break.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
Rising temperatures have added more warm, humid days to the calendar in much of the US, lengthening the season in which the disease-carrying insects thrive.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
The odds were stacked against Coleman and his players, lengthening further when Radja Nainggolan's thunderous long-range strike gave Belgium an early lead.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The average monthly new-car payment reached a record $777 in the second quarter, with record levels of buyers lengthening their loan terms past six and seven years, recent data from Edmunds.com show.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 5, 2026
“Essentially, you’re just lengthening the ramp, which with international films really helps put these movies on the radar,” says a veteran awards consultant, who, because of potential client conflicts, asked to speak anonymously.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
Maman pauses, lengthening her words like sweet dough, as my eyes grow wide with wonder.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
