lengthen
/ˈlɛŋθən/verb
lengthen is spelled L-E-N-G-T-H-E-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, lengthen means “To make longer, to extend the length of” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lengthen?
| Letters | 8: L-E-N-G-T-H-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 36,565th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lengthen?
Lengthen appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 36,565th 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 lengthen?
- /ˈlɛŋθən/
- /ˈlɛŋkθən/
Lengthen has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Simplificationalizer-lengthen.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lengthen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lengthen
- lengthens present, singular, he/she/it
- lengthening participle, present
- lengthened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lengthen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make longer, to extend the length of.
You need to lengthen the story if you want to have it published.
- 2
To become longer.
The shadows on the lawn lengthened as the sun began to set.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lengthen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | rallonger |
| German | verlängern |
| Portuguese | alongar, acompridar, encompridar |
| Spanish | alargar, elongar , alargarse |
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 lengthen come from?
From length + -en.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).