- to make or become longer; stretch
- long and narrow; slender: elongate leaves
- lengthened or tapered
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
e•lon•gate /ɪˈlɔŋgeɪt, ɪˈlɑŋ-/USA pronunciation
v., -gat•ed, -gat•ing
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- .
- to (cause to) lengthen or extend: [~ + object]Intense heat elongated the metal bar.[no object]The metal bar elongated under the intense heat.
e•lon•gate
(i lông′gāt, i long′-, ē′lông gāt′, ē′long-),USA pronunciation v., -gat•ed, -gat•ing, adj.
v.t.
v.i.
adj. Also, e•lon′gat•ed.
e•lon•ga•tive
(ē′lông gā′tiv, ē′long-),USA pronunciation adj.
v.t.
- to draw out to greater length; lengthen;
extend.
v.i.
- to increase in length.
adj. Also, e•lon′gat•ed.
- extended;
lengthened. - long and thin.
- Late Latin ēlongātus lengthened out, past participle of ēlongāre to make longer, make distant, remove, equivalent. to Latin ē- e- + -longāre, derivative of longus long, longē far off
- 1530–40
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
elongate /ˈiːlɒŋɡeɪt/ vb
'elongate' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
lunge
- cockscomb
- earwig
- eloign
- elongation
- fairy shrimp
- foredeep
- heart urchin
- lengthen
- lizard
- long barrow
- nereid
- nerve cord
- northern leaf blight
- ophite
- ophiuroid
- overthrust belt
- proboscis
- procercoid
- rax
- retinula
- shark
- snailfish
- snake
- snakehead
- snake mackerel