lengthen

lengthen — verb

1. to increase the physical length of something, such as a piece of clothing, a roa

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to increase the physical length of something, such as a piece of clothing, a road, hair, or a shadow, or to become physically longer

Example

The tailor lengthened Tuan's trousers by two inches before the wedding.

transitive: lengthen + clothing + by + measurement

During spring, the days gradually lengthen as the weather grows warmer.

intransitive: days lengthen (seasonal change)

Common collocations
  • lengthen a skirt / dress / trousers
  • lengthen hair
  • lengthen a road / runway / railway line
  • lengthen a queue
  • days lengthen
  • shadows lengthen
Synonyms
  • extend

    more general; works for both physical length and time (extend a deadline)

  • elongate

    more technical or scientific; used for shapes, lines, or biological structures

  • stretch

    implies pulling or expanding something flexible; often temporary

Antonyms
  • shorten

    the direct opposite; used for the same types of objects (clothes, roads, hair)

  • reduce

    broader; can apply to length but also to amount, size, or degree

Grammar Patterns

lengthen + noun phrase (physical object)

noun phrase + lengthen (intransitive — seasonal/natural change)

be lengthened + by + measurement

Usage Note

Frequently used in the passive when describing professional alterations (The sleeves were lengthened). The intransitive form is common with natural phenomena — days, shadows, queues — that grow longer over time.

Common Mistakes

I lengthened my summer vacation by two weeks.
I extended my summer vacation by two weeks.
Use extend (not lengthen) for adding time to a planned break; lengthen is for physical length.

2. to increase the amount of time that something takes, such as a meeting, a wait,

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

to increase the amount of time that something takes, such as a meeting, a wait, or a hospital stay, or to take more time than before

Example

Gabriel's speech lengthened the staff meeting by almost forty minutes.

transitive: lengthen + meeting + by + time period

The waiting time at the clinic lengthened as more patients arrived.

intransitive: waiting time lengthens

Common collocations
  • lengthen a meeting / discussion
  • lengthen a stay / visit
  • lengthen waiting time
  • lengthen a process / procedure
  • time / duration lengthens
Synonyms
  • extend

    neutral and common for temporal duration; slightly more natural in many contexts

  • prolong

    slightly more formal; sometimes suggests unnecessary or excessive delay

  • drag out

    informal; negative connotation of making something last too long

Antonyms
  • shorten

    direct opposite for events, meetings, and durations

  • cut

    informal; suggests reducing time deliberately (cut the meeting short)

Grammar Patterns

lengthen + noun phrase (event or activity period)

noun phrase + lengthen (intransitive — time-related)

be lengthened + by + time expression

Usage Note

The subject is typically an event, activity, or period of time (the meeting, the wait, the process). A person can be the agent in transitive use (The manager lengthened the discussion), but this is less common than using extend for temporal duration.

Common Mistakes

The tailor lengthened the time to finish the dress.
The tailor needed more time to finish the dress.
Lengthen is not used with a person as agent of time; use take more time or extend.

Word family

  • length
    nounA2
  • lengthy
    adjectiveB2
  • lengthening
    adjectiveB2
  • lengthening
    nounC1
  • long
    adjectiveA1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Lengthen, extend, elongate, stretch, and prolong all relate to making something longer, but they differ in scope and typical use. Lengthen is the most neutral, general verb for increasing physical length — you lengthen a skirt, a road, or a queue. Extend works for both physical length and time, often suggesting adding to an existing endpoint (extend a deadline, extend a building). Elongate is more technical or scientific, used for shapes and biological structures (the cells elongate as they grow). Stretch implies pulling or expanding something flexible (stretch a rubber band) and often suggests a temporary change. Prolong is almost exclusively temporal (prolong a discussion). For everyday physical lengthening — a tailor altering clothes, a road being built longer — lengthen is the natural choice.

extend ↗elongatestretch ↗prolong ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • lengthen out

Prepositions

  • by (lengthen by two inches / by an hour)
  • to (lengthen to three metres)

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed in Middle English from the noun length (from Old English lengthu, related to long) plus the verb-forming suffix -en (from Old English -nian). The word replaced the earlier verb length, which had the same meaning.