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
Funding shortfalls for research and personal circumstances can also often lengthen the study period.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
Developers at a new New York luxury condo have leased its commercial space to a high-end longevity company that offers to lengthen the lives of its members.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Eccentric exercise focuses on the phase when muscles lengthen rather than shorten.
From Science Daily ● May 1, 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 silence lengthens, and I remain still as a post, too afraid to even blink.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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
The survey also showed that delivery times lengthened substantially while inventories declined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 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
By late afternoon, the shadows had lengthened and they were sitting in deep shade.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
If that happens, the melt season could begin lengthening again.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
The redevelopment of Camp Schwab includes new buildings and lengthening the runway, an engineering challenge that requires plunging thousands of pylons and tons of landfill into the soft seabed at Oura Bay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
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
The “clearest story” of car loans in recent years has been their lengthening terms, according to Gregory.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
His nose was also slowly lengthening — their hour was up, Ron was turning back into himself, and from the look of horror he was suddenly giving Harry, he must be, too.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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