From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlengthenlength‧en /ˈleŋθən/ verb [intransitive, transitive] LONGto make something longer or to become longer OPP shorten Can you lengthen this skirt for me? The days lengthened as summer approached.RegisterIn everyday English, people usually say that something gets longer rather than lengthens: The days began to get longer.→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
lengthen• He smiled and the creases at the corners of his eyes lengthened.• Shadows began to lengthen as the sun sank in the sky.• The crack seemed to open wider and lengthen before her eyes.• As afternoon drew on and the shadows lengthened, her fears increased.• There was plenty of room on the course and it was relatively easy to lengthen it enough to test the professionals.• The more lives lengthen, it seems certain, the more change happens.• Plans to lengthen military service from 15 to 18 months will also be scrapped if the talks succeed.• Again, you can lengthen or shorten the story by including or excluding the various parts, which are mostly self-contained.• But as the separation from her husband lengthened, she found herself becoming increasingly despondent.• This particular operation involves lengthening the Achilles tendon.• The only solution for this is to use a soldering iron to lengthen them!• Can you lengthen these pants for me?• We find out that days are lengthening, why April has fools and how to slow time to a stop.• He wore blue jeans, which had been lengthened with strips of denim.• Because the muscles are being lengthened, you may experience pain in them. 