DictionaryAI

extended

ek-STEN-did/ɛkˈstɛndɪd/

6 meanings of extended

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  1. 1
    made bigger (action)verb
    Simple past and past participle of extend.

    The company extended the contract for another year.

    Last spring the city extended the bike path along the river.

    UsageAlso used for offering something: she extended an invitation, they extended a warm welcome.

  2. 2
    adjective
    Continuing for a longer period of time than is usual or expected.

    Negotiations dragged on through an extended series of late-night sessions.

    Patients recovering from surgery often need an extended stay in the hospital.

    UsageUsually before a word for a length of time: an extended stay, an extended period, an extended break.

    Similarprolonged, lengthy, long, protracted

    Oppositebrief, short

    Note

    Here the stretch is in time rather than space, and the word readily joins compounds. RAIL reported in 2022 that the Hunterston B nuclear plant had been life-extended on several occasions before it closed, meaning its working life had been prolonged more than once.

  3. 3
    broadadjective
    Covering a large scope or range; broad and far-reaching.

    Her extended family, from second cousins to great-aunts, filled the hall for the wedding.

    An extended network of contacts helped her find work quickly.

    UsageMost often in extended family, the relatives beyond parents and children; also an extended network of contacts.

    Similarextensive, broad, comprehensive

    Oppositelimited, restricted

  4. 4
    adjective
    Greater in length than usual; stretched to a longer extent.

    Engineers designed an extended chassis to seat more passengers.

    The pickup came with an extended cab, leaving room for a small rear seat.

    Similarlengthened, elongated, long

  5. 5
    adjective
    Stretched or pulled out from a folded or compact state; expanded.

    The extended ladder reached just past the gutter, so he could finally clear out the leaves.

    An extended awning shaded the whole patio from the afternoon sun.

    Similaroutstretched, unfolded

    Oppositefolded, retracted

Less common meaning

  1. 6
    wide (type)adjective
    Wider than usual; in typography, describing characters wider than the standard width.

    The designer set the banner in an extended typeface for extra emphasis.

    Extended letterforms gave the poster a bold, spacious look.

    Similarwide

    Oppositecondensed, compressed, narrow

    Note

    A typographer's word for width. An extended face draws its letters broader than the standard roman width while keeping roughly the same height, so a line set in it runs longer and looks more open. Its opposite is a condensed face. The term belongs to typefaces and their characters, not to a line or a page.

    Checked 6 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • An extended face has broader letters than the standard roman face. designforweb.org
    • Extended describes width; character heights can also change slightly across width variants, including adjustments to x-height, ascenders and descenders. partners.adobe.com
    • Extended letters make the same text occupy more horizontal space at the same point size. designforweb.org

extended is a form of extend

extend, verb: To cause something to increase in size, range, or scope. Full entry

Forms
extendextends he/she/itextending -ing formextended past tense, past participle
Spelling
extend → extended: add -ed
Sound
The ending sounds like /ɪd/, an extra syllable.

Practice

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