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elongate

elong·ateUK /ɪˈlɒŋ.ɡeɪt/adjective, verb

elongate is spelled E-L-O-N-G-A-T-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables (elong·ate). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, elongate means “Elongated, extended, lengthened; (especially biology) having a long and slender form” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in elongate?

Letters8: E-L-O-N-G-A-T-E
Syllables2: elong·ate
In writingabout once in every 2 million words; the 37,943rd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is elongate?

Elongate appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 37,943rd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce elongate?

  • UK /ɪˈlɒŋ.ɡeɪt/
  • UK /ˈiːˌlɒŋ.ɡeɪt/
  • UK /ˈɛ-/

Elongate has 2 syllables, split elong·ate in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-elongate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of elongate

  • more elongate comparative
  • most elongate superlative
  • elongates present, singular, he/she/it
  • elongating participle, present
  • elongated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does elongate mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Elongated, extended, lengthened; (especially biology) having a long and slender form.

    Painted turtles lay oval, elongate eggs.

verb

  1. 1

    To make (something) long or longer, for example, by pulling or stretching; to make (something) elongated; to extend, to lengthen.

  2. 2

    obsoleteFollowed by from: to move to or place (something) at a distance from another thing; to remove.

  3. 3

    To become long or longer, for example, by being pulled or stretched; to become elongated.

  4. 4

    Of a plant part: to grow long; also, to have a long and slender or tapering form.

  5. 5

    obsoleteFollowed 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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Elongate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchallongé (having a long and slender form), allonger (to make (something) long or longer)
Portuguesedelgado (having a long and slender form), elongar, alongar (to make (something) long or longer)
Spanishdelgado (having a long and slender form), elongar, alongar, delongar (to make (something) long or longer), elongarse (to become long or longer)
Germanlängen, verlängern, ausdehnen (to make (something) long or longer)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does elongate come from?

From Late Middle English elongat, elongate (“kept away; different or remote in nature”, adjective), borrowed from Late Latin ēlongātus (“having been stretched out, elongated; prolonged, protracted; having been kept aloof, removed”) + Middle English -at (suffix forming participles).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after elongate