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:
That can either lengthen the life of a mortgage bond, if fewer refinancings happen, or shorten it, if a lot do.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Snake embryos must lengthen rapidly to produce their unusually elongated bodies, but the gut does not grow at the same rate.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
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 feel my arms stretch, my fingertips lengthen, my lungs expand.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest that the spiral forms as the embryo's body rapidly lengthens while its gut acts as a tether.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
“As the delay lengthens, financing costs, integration risk, transaction expenses and lost strategic flexibility become increasingly tangible,” said Barak Orbach, a law and business professor at the University of Arizona.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 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
Eventually, as the day lengthens and circumstances and visual cues recall how we were first introduced to this world, a narrative darkening carries us into the final moments of “Evil Does Not Exist.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 3, 2024
The stem lengthens until the tip hits the platform, like a kite's tail.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
The company also lengthened the time users have to respond.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
In the left map above, the darkest red areas mark the places where the melt season lengthened fastest during that decade.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
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
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
I took a deep breath and lengthened my back.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
August data showed banks lengthening deposit maturities while average lending rates fell, pointing to further margin pressure, he reckons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
"So they detach the slow-growing gut, which is now tethering the lengthening body. The body buckles and twists into coiling," Miyashita explains.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
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
Longevity is creating new investment opportunities while also lengthening the planning horizon for individuals and families.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 15, 2026
It began to roll and twist, lengthening and thinning, until it looked like a long black cord knotted at one end.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
