lengthen
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Related Words
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
- lengthener noun
- outlengthen verb (used with object)
- unlengthened adjective
Etymology
Origin of 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.
A green-arrow lengthens the overall cycle of traffic signals so travelers wait more seconds to go, in exchange for more safety.
From Seattle Times
Climate Central found the growing season had lengthened since 1970 for 80% of the than 200 cities across the U.S. it analyzed.
From Seattle Times
The Legislature’s public safety committees have a record of sidelining bills that would lengthen prison sentences or create new crimes, because the Democrats who control them do not want California to incarcerate more people.
From Los Angeles Times
The new bill would lengthen jail terms and force people to undergo "conversion therapy", practices intended to change their sexual orientation.
From Reuters
That’s attributable, in part, to a slew of get-tough laws passed on the federal and state level, which lengthened mandatory sentences for many crimes.
From Seattle Times
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.
