elongate
/ˈiːlɒŋɡeɪt
/verb [with object] (usually as adjective elongated)
1Make (something) longer, especially unusually so in relation to its width: a slender, elongated neck...
- Their flat, scaleless bellies and slender, elongated bodies facilitate the process.
- The figures of his angels are elongated, with wings stretched upward as if they were sculpted by the Gothic masters.
- Each is comprised of two or three elongated strips of material stretching from above eye level and continuing near the ground.
Synonyms
lengthen, stretch out, make longer, extend, broaden, widen, enlarge
1.1 [no object] chiefly Biology Become longer: the pup’s globular body slowly elongates...
- In contrast to aerobic germination where the radicle emerged first and both root and shoot growth were observed, only the shoot emerged and elongated during the entire anaerobic incubation period.
- For example, as the deposition of lignins limits plant cell wall extension, lignification must be regulated so that it occurs after a cell has elongated so as not to impinge on plant growth.
- In several cases the pollen tubes emerged and elongated rapidly, then burst, with the cytoplasm streaming out of the burst tip.
adjective Biology
Long in relation to width; elongated: elongate fishes...
- One of the most prominent characteristics of early vertebrates is the elongate caudal fin bearing fin rays.
- The forelimbs are elongate and are positioned ventrally.
- Fertile fronds have clusters of elongate sporangia that partially replace pinnules.
Origin
Late Middle English (in the sense 'move away'): from late Latin elongat- 'placed at a distance', from the verb elongare, from Latin e- (variant of ex-) 'away' + longe 'far off', longus 'long'.