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lengthen

/ˈleŋθən//ˈleŋθən/·verb
to become longer, or to make something longer
Fig. 1 — All afternoon the tree's shadow has been creeping across the field.
01Definition

To lengthen is simply to become longer, or to make something so — the plainest verb on the axis of growing length. Days lengthen after midwinter, shadows lengthen through an afternoon, a queue lengthens, a tailor lengthens a sleeve. It belongs to the quiet English family of -en verbs (widen, deepen, strengthen) built straight onto a noun; the Middle English verb was simply 'length'. Where extend adds deliberate reach, lengthen most often just happens, gradually, as time passes.

02In use
  • iThe days lengthen quickly once spring arrives.
  • iiThe queue lengthened steadily as the morning wore on.
  • iiiThe tailor offered to lengthen the sleeves by two centimetres.
03Collocations
  • the days lengthen
  • shadows lengthen
  • lengthen a sleeve
  • the list lengthens
  • lengthen the intervals

Family length (noun) · lengthy (adjective) · lengthwise (adverb)

04Relations

=extend, elongate, stretch, prolong, draw out

≠shorten, curtail, shrink

05Compared
PairThe difference
lengthen vs elongatetechnical or artistic drawing-out, longer and thinner → elongate; plain everyday getting-longer → lengthen.
lengthen vs shortengets or is made longer → lengthen; gets or is made shorter → shorten.
lengthen vs stretchgets longer and keeps the length, no force needed → lengthen; pulled longer under tension, ready to spring back → stretch.
06TOEFL & IELTS

The safe, neutral choice whenever something gets longer — and its intransitive use is the exam-relevant one: in IELTS Task 1 trends and process descriptions, waiting times lengthen, intervals lengthen, lists lengthen, no object needed. Watch the spelling — the -gth- cluster loses its t under time pressure ('lenghten' is a common slip) — and note the family split: lengthy is mildly negative (a lengthy delay), while long is neutral.

07Asked
Is it spelled 'lengthen' or 'lenghten'?
Lengthen — the cluster is -ngth-, exactly as in length and strength: l-e-n-g-t-h-e-n. The misspelling 'lenghten' swaps the t and h and is common enough that spell-checkers have a rule for it. Anchor the spelling to the noun: take 'length', keep all six letters in order, and add -en.
Is lengthen transitive or intransitive?
Both, and the two halves matter. Transitive: someone lengthens something — 'the council lengthened the runway'. Intransitive: the thing lengthens by itself — 'the waiting list lengthened', 'shadows lengthen at dusk'. The intransitive use is the more idiomatic of the two, which is why lengthen, not extend, is the natural verb for days and shadows.
What does 'the days lengthen' mean?
That daylight lasts longer each day — the stretch between sunrise and sunset grows as winter turns to summer. In the northern hemisphere days lengthen from the December solstice to the June one, slowly at first and fastest around the March equinox. It is the stock example of intransitive lengthen: nobody lengthens the days; they lengthen on their own.
What is the noun form of lengthen?
Length — lengthen is built on it, not the other way round. English once used 'length' as a verb too ('to length a rope'); the -en form, in use since late Middle English, gradually displaced it. For the process itself you can use lengthening ('the gradual lengthening of the days'); there is no separate word 'lengthenment'.
What is the difference between lengthen and extend?
Lengthen is neutral becoming-longer; extend adds the idea of deliberate reach — pushing a thing further than it went. Shadows lengthen (nobody is doing it); a company extends a deadline (someone decides to). Where both fit — lengthen/extend a runway — extend emphasises the purpose, lengthen the dimension. In the scene above the shadow lengthens precisely because no hand is involved.
What is the opposite of lengthen?
Shorten, its exact -en twin: sleeves are shortened, routes are shortened, and after the June solstice the days shorten again. For time-things cut deliberately short, curtail is the sharper choice — a curtailed visit ends earlier than planned. The pairing is worth learning as a cycle: days lengthen through spring, shorten through autumn.