dilate
verb
di·late
| \ ˈdī-ˌlāt
, dī-ˈlāt
\
, dī-ˈlāt
\
dilated;
dilating
Definition of dilate
1
: to become wide : swell
the pupil of the eye dilates and contracts
2
: to comment at length : discourse
—usually used with on or upon dilating upon themes of love and death
2
archaic
: to describe or set forth at length or in detail
dilate at full what hath befallen of them— Shakespeare
Keep scrolling for more
Other Words from dilate
dilatability
\ (ˌ)dī-ˌlā-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē
\
noun
\
noun
dilatable
\ dī-ˈlā-tə-bəl
, ˈdī-ˌlā-
\
adjective
, ˈdī-ˌlā-
\
adjective
dilator
\ dī-ˈlā-tər
, ˈdī-ˌlā- \
noun
, ˈdī-ˌlā- \
noun
Examples of dilate in a Sentence
The drug causes the blood vessels to dilate.
During labor, a woman's cervix will dilate to about 10 centimeters.
The drug dilates the blood vessels.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Midwives, Doulas and Photographers At 9 centimeters dilated, Terra Hall’s first priority was the epidural. — Los Angeles Times, "Newsletter: Today: When a home means abandoning your past," 16 Aug. 2019 The three-millimeter-long maggot bends at its middle, latches its upper body to its rear end and dilates its lower half to increase the tension on that latch. — Scientific American, "Ballistic Maggots, Synthetic Winks and Why You’re Not Goop: This Week’s Best Science GIFs," 9 Aug. 2019 The woman driver smelled of an alcoholic beverage, her eyes were glassy and dilated and her cheeks were flushed, according to police. — Bruce Geiselman, cleveland.com, "Drunken driving crash suspect leaves bumper behind: North Olmsted Police Blotter," 21 July 2019 Vision to Learn avoids using eye drops to dilate the eyes or other invasive procedures, and the organization refers about 10 percent of children to external doctors to be treated for more serious conditions. — Marisa Iati, Washington Post, "A mobile clinic is helping low-income students to see clearly — one pair of glasses at a time.," 10 July 2019 Ninety minutes later, the students’ arteries were measured to test their ability to bounce back—or dilate—after being compressed by a blood pressure cuff. — Sara Talpos, Quartz, "The dangers of energy drinks can be fatal—especially for teens," 10 July 2019 In older adults, even healthy ones, blood vessels may not dilate efficiently. — Michele Cohen Marill, WIRED, "How Extreme Heat Overwhelms Your Body and Becomes Deadly," 3 July 2019 Zhukovskyy was unsteady on his feet and his pupils were dilated, Dorris said. — Matt Rocheleau, BostonGlobe.com, "Video shows recent drug charge arrest of truck driver charged in deadly N.H. crash," 27 June 2019 But a suite of sophisticated approximation schemes is required to slide up the distance scales, dilating the relevant details and blurring out irrelevant ones along the way. — Quanta Magazine, "A Common Logic to Seeing Cats and Cosmos," 4 Dec. 2014These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dilate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for dilate
dilate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of dilate
: to become larger or wider
See the full definition for dilate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
dilate
verb
di·late
| \ dī-ˈlāt
\
\
dilated;
dilating
Kids Definition of dilate
: to make or grow larger or wider
Her pupils dilated in the dark.
dilate
verb
di·late
| \ dī-ˈlāt
, ˈdī-ˌ
\
, ˈdī-ˌ
\
dilated;
dilating
Medical Definition of dilate
: to enlarge, stretch, or cause to expand
dilate his pupils with atropine the drug dilates peripheral arteries
: to become expanded or swollen
the cervix was dilating the pupils dilated