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

When a man falls upon his knees and grieves, doth not his musculature contract and his ligaments distend?

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

In his 1979 piece “Triangle — Stone/Cloth,” which leads off the exhibition, a fist-size rock distends a white banner into a triangular rictus of billows.

From New York Times ● Apr. 10, 2019

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

In some cases I have found it of advantage to put on a tourniquet below the seat of operation, but this is not always advisable, as it distends the radial artery.

From Diseases of the Horse's Foot by Reeks, Harry Caulton

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

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

Cardiac activity can influence auditory and visual perception, and touch and sensory perceptions have been shown to be impaired during the systolic phase of the cardiac cycle when blood vessels are briefly distended.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2023

Medics noted the baby had projectile vomited at about 02:00 BST and her abdomen appeared "purple and distended".

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2023

Swollen legs and arms flopped with distended disjointedness.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

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

Great distending clouds of chalk and earth and granite spout into the sky.

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