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dilate

Pronunciation: /dʌɪˈleɪt, dɪ-/

Translate dilate | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of dilate

verb

  • 1make or become wider, larger, or more open: [no object]:her eyes dilated with horror [with object]:the woman dilated her nostrils
  • 2 [no object] (dilate on) speak or write at length on (a subject): the faithful could hear the minister dilate on the role religion could play

Derivatives

dilatable

adjective

dilation

noun

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French dilater, from Latin dilatare 'spread out', from di- 'apart' + latus 'wide'

dilate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of dilate in the US English dictionary

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