distend

American  

[dih-stend] / dɪˈstɛnd /

verb (used with or without object)

distends, present (3rd person singular) distended, past participle, past distending present participle

1. to expand by stretching, as something hollow or elastic.

   Habitual overeating had distended his stomach.

   Synonyms:

   bloat, enlarge

   Antonyms:

   contract, shrink

2. to spread in all directions; expand; swell.

   The sea distended about them.

   Synonyms:

   bloat, enlarge

   Antonyms:

   contract, shrink

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distend British  

/ dɪˈstɛnd /

verb

1. to expand or be expanded by or as if by pressure from within; swell; inflate

2. (tr) to stretch out or extend

3. (tr) to magnify in importance; exaggerate

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Synonym Usage

See expand.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• distender
  noun
• distensibility
  noun
• distension
  noun
• overdistend
  verb
• undistend
  verb (used with object)
• distensible
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• distending
  present
• distended
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• distend
  simple
• distends
  simple
• have distended
  perfect
• has distended
  perfect
• am distending
  progressive
• are distending
  progressive
• is distending
  progressive
• have been distending
  perfect progressive
• has been distending
  perfect progressive

Past

• distended
  simple
• had distended
  perfect
• was distending
  progressive
• were distending
  progressive
• had been distending
  perfect progressive

Future

• will distend
  simple
• will have distended
  perfect
• will be distending
  progressive
• will have been distending
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of distend

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English distenden (from Anglo-French destendre ), from Latin distendere, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + tendere “to stretch”

Explanation

A soda and pizza binge might make your stomach distend, meaning your stomach will swell as a result of pressure from the inside. If you’ve ever eaten too much food it won’t surprise you to learn that the verb distend traces back to the Latin words dis-, meaning “apart,” and tendere, meaning “to stretch.” Your stomach will certainly feel stretched out if you do something — like overeat — that causes it to distend. The word distend often applies to stomachs — a pregnancy would also cause a stomach to distend — but it can also refer to anything that is stretched out as a result of internal pressure.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

distend distends distended distending

Instead, random bits of the Peep chick — its flat base, the curved neck, the tail — distend until they look like bubbles about to burst.

From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2023

Its body seemed to distend, its muscles to melt.

From The New Yorker ● Feb. 11, 2019

Does the league really want to so distend its compensation scale for any commissioner, much less this one?

From Washington Post ● Nov. 14, 2017

This disorder arises when defective valves allow blood to accumulate within the veins, causing them to distend, twist, and become visible on the surface of the integument.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

The face of Etienne’s watch appears to distend.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

What might have been a crisp and moody entertainment, in Graham Greene’s elevated sense of that word, distends.

From New York Times ● Jan. 5, 2023

This stimulatory activity is brief, however, because when the intestine distends with chyme, the enterogastric reflex inhibits secretion.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Within an hour of lunch, the stomach distends to the point where pants need to be unbuttoned, and it remains this way for the rest of the day.

From US News ● Nov. 21, 2012

An analogy often invoked across Afghanistan is that of the water-filled bag: squeeze the bottom, the top distends.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2012

It has disappeared; the open spots change place, the sombre folds advance and retreat, a sort of wind from the sepulchre pushes forward, hurls back, distends, and disperses these tragic multitudes.

From Les Misérables by Hapgood, Isabel Florence

But the groaning synthesizer underneath her bashful smile tells you something is off — a crystalline tone now distended, unnerving.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

To actually feel intoxicated, a chimp would need to eat so much fruit that its stomach would become painfully distended.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2025

Mrs Cook's symptoms worsened over the following months: her appetite "diminished", she needed to urinate more and by September 2021 her stomach had distended to the point that she looked pregnant.

From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2025

Onyeaka wondered if that abundance could be harnessed to feed people in conflict zones where children were suffering from malnutrition, their distended stomachs a clear sign of protein deficiency.

From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2025

Thereafter the Sun will slowly become red and distended, presiding over an Earth sweltering even at the poles.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Songs like “No Good Deed” and “March of the Witch Hunters” are chopped up and rearranged to allow for more dialogue and less emoting, distending the film into a bloated heap.

From Salon ● Nov. 21, 2025

I think what we are going for is condensing stage time, while distending mythic time … if that makes ANY sense!

From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2021

It’s a reminder that our smallness is sometimes petty, the unwelcome gravity of others’ suffering distending her grief.

From Slate ● Jun. 9, 2016

Maintaining vascular tone within the veins prevents the veins from merely distending, dampening the flow of blood, and as you will see, vasoconstriction actually enhances the flow.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

It is misleading to describe the expansion of the universe as a sort of distending bubble viewed from the outside.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan