Distend has 4 different meanings across 1 category:
Verb
Verb
1
become wider
"His pupils were dilated"
2
cause to expand as it by internal pressure
"The gas distended the animal's body"
3
swell from or as if from internal pressure
"The distended bellies of the starving cows"
4
To extend or expand, as from internal pressure; to swell
Example Sentences
"His pupils were dilated"
verb
"The gas distended the animal's body"
verb
"The distended bellies of the starving cows"
verb
Related Terms
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
Origin
The word comes from the Latin verb distendō, which originally meant to stretch out or extend.