Extends

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɛkˈstɛndz/

Definitions

1. To increase the length, size, or range of something ; to stretch or spread something out over a distance or area ; to present or provide something to someone, such as an offer or invitation
2. To lengthen or broaden in dimension ; to extend something physically or metaphorically by reaching out ; to grant or tender something, like help or a proposal, to another party
3. To make something cover a larger area or duration ; to physically stretch or expand outward ; to proffer or send forth something meant for acceptance or use

Etymology: "Extends" is the third-person singular present form of "extend," so its history is that of the verb itself. The verb came into Middle English from Anglo-Norman "extendre" and "estendre," which were drawn from Latin "extendere," meaning "to stretch out." The Latin word was built from "ex-," meaning "out," and "tendere," meaning "to stretch," the same stretching root that gives English "tend" in its older sense of stretching toward something. The core idea of physical stretching has carried through the centuries. Medieval English used the verb for literal lengthening and spreading, and the same stretching image later extended to abstract senses such as extending a credit, an invitation, or a courtesy, where the thing offered is pictured as reaching out toward another person.

Synonyms: elongates, stretches, lengthens, expands, prolongs

Antonyms: shortens, reduces, contracts, diminishes, curtails