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:
At worst, he adds, engineers might have to lengthen cryptographic keys, the numbers used in secure exchanges.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
As the nights lengthen through autumn, one of the most recognisable star clusters in the night sky becomes increasingly prominent.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 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
They were careless of me, leaving me to roam freely like a pet goat I had no one to mend my torn clothes or to lengthen my skirts as I grew.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
It lengthens the Dodgers lineup for Hernández, after a slow start to his year, to return to being a veteran power threat — just in time to, ideally, carry the momentum into the postseason.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
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 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
Celia lengthens her stride, so I do, too, and up we go, picking up our pace instead of slowing down.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
A new NASA-led study now finds that although the melt season has lengthened dramatically since satellite monitoring began, its average duration has changed relatively little since about 2010.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
In a bid to limit the stress on his body, he lengthened his run-up in 2018, and that did allow him to play key roles in some of England's biggest successes in recent years.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
It shrank from roughly 44 to eight aircraft between 2002 and 2013, even as fire seasons lengthened and intensified.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 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
He stood up suddenly and lengthened his arms toward the minister, the coffin and his wife’s corpse.
From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
The study, however, didn’t attribute the lengthening delays to flaws in the single-payer system, but rather to the increasing complexity of cancer care and changes in hospital practices.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 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
All over the house red eggs gleam in lengthening, solstice rays.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
