elongating

Verb

elongate (third-person singular simple present elongates, present participle elongating, simple past and past participle elongated)

1. (transitive) To make (something) long or longer, for example, by pulling or stretching; to make (something) elongated; to extend, to lengthen.
   • VVhen the muſcles of the heart cease to act, the refluent blood again diſtends or elongates them; and thus irritated they contract as before.1796, Erasmus Darwin, “Sect[ion] XIV. Of the Production of Ideas. VII. Of the Sense of Extension.”, in Zoonomia; or, The Laws of Organic Life, volume II, London: […] J[oseph] Johnson, […], →OCLC...

   Synonyms:

   draw out, prolong, stretch, enlengthen, extend, lengthen, produce, protract

   Antonyms:

   abbreviate, abridge, chop down, chop off, cut short, compress, condense, curt, curtail, lop off

2. (obsolete, transitive) Followed by from: to move to or place (something) at a distance from another thing; to remove.
   • [L]et the cõmon house of easement [i.e., the outhouse] be ouer some water, or els elongated from the house.[1547], Andrewe Boorde [i.e., Andrew Boorde], “The Thyrde Chapyter doth Shewe a Man to Buylde His House in a Pure and a Fresshe Ayre to Lengthen His Lyfe”, in A Compendyous Regyment or a Dyetary of...
3. (intransitive) To become long or longer, for example, by being pulled or stretched; to become elongated.
   • Here, Mr. Lorry perceived the reflexion on the wall to elongate, and Mr. Cruncher rose and stepped forward.1859, Charles Dickens, “A Hand at Cards”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, book III (The Track of a Storm), page 204
4. (intransitive) Of a plant part: to grow long; also, to have a long and slender or tapering form.
   • Shepherd’s-purse Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medik. […] FLOWERS White, blooming March–December; inflorescence of racemes, elongating greatly with fruit; […]2009, Tom Reaume, “Mustard—Brassicaceae”, in 620 Wild Plants of North America—Fully Illustrated (Canadian Plains Studies; 57), Winnipeg, Man.: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina...
5. (intransitive, obsolete) Followed by from: to be at a distance, or move away, from a thing; to depart; (specifically, astronomy) of a planet, star, or other astronomical object: to appear to recede from the sun or a fixed point in the celestial sphere.
   • [A]bout Capo Frio in Brasilia, the south point [of the compass] varieth tvvelve degrees unto the VVeſt, and about the mouth of the Straites of Magellan five or ſix; but elongating from the coaſt of Braſilia tovvard the ſhore of Africa it varyeth Eaſtvvard, and arriving at Capo de las Agullas, it...1646, Thomas Browne, “Concerning the Loadstone”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 2nd book, page 63

See all 6 meanings of elongate