enlarge

enlarge

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English enlargen, from Old French enlargier, enlargir. By surface analysis, en- +‎ large.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪnˈlɑːd͡ʒ/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ɪnˈlɑɹd͡ʒ/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dʒ

Verb

enlarge (third-person singular simple present enlarges, present participle enlarging, simple past and past participle enlarged)

  1. (transitive) To make (something) larger.
    Synonyms: embiggen, enlargen, largen, greaten; see also Thesaurus:augment
    We'll need to enlarge our budget if we want to include the helicopter ride in our holiday.
  2. (intransitive) To grow larger.
    Synonyms: expand, grow; see also Thesaurus:increase
  3. (transitive) To increase the capacity of; to expand; to give free scope or greater scope to; also, to dilate, as with joy, affection, etc.
    Synonym: expand
    Knowledge enlarges the mind.
  4. (intransitive) To speak or write at length upon or on (some subject); expand; elaborate
    Synonyms: dilate, expatiate, expound
    • 1819, The Edinburgh Monthly Review, volume 1, page 707:
      We are then told of the basilisk killing by staring, and of a mous running round a snake till it rushes into the jaws of death. After copying many such anilities, the author adds only, "but our readers will excuse our enlarging."
    • 1663 (indicated as 1664), [Samuel Butler], “The Second Part of Hudibras”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 2:
      I shall enlarge upon the Point.
    • 1926, T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, New York: Anchor, published 1991, page 167:
      He began to enlarge on the nature of the ground.
  5. (archaic) To release; to set at large.
    Synonyms: free, liberate, set free
  6. (nautical) To get more astern or parallel with the vessel's course; to draw aft; said of the wind.
  7. (law) To extend the time allowed for compliance with (an order or rule).
    • 1795, Charles Runnington, The History, Principles and Practice […] :
      the court would not take farther time to adjourn and deliberate, where the term was near spent, unless the parties would consent to enlarge it

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