Dilate
verb
To become larger or wider.
Pupils dilate in the dark to allow more light to enter the eye.

Often appears as...
- pupils dilate
- arteries dilate
Usage tips
Technical
verb
To make something larger or wider.
The surgeon had to dilate the patient's artery to improve blood flow.

Often appears as...
- dilate the artery
- dilate the pupils
Usage tips
Medical
verb
To speak or write extensively on a subject.
He liked to dilate on the changes he had witnessed.

Often appears as...
- dilate on a topic
- dilate on a subject
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Academic
verb
To become larger or wider.
Pupils dilate in the dark to allow more light to enter the eye.

Often appears as...
- pupils dilate
- arteries dilate
Usage tips
Technical
verb
To make something larger or wider.
The surgeon had to dilate the patient's artery to improve blood flow.

Often appears as...
- dilate the artery
- dilate the pupils
Usage tips
Medical
verb
To speak or write extensively on a subject.
He liked to dilate on the changes he had witnessed.

Often appears as...
- dilate on a topic
- dilate on a subject
Usage tips
Formal, Disapproving
Academic
Definition 1 of 3

Physical Reaction
Dilate refers to a natural, involuntary reaction of the body to certain stimuli.

His nostrils dilated as he smelled the freshly baked pie.
Not Always Visible
Some dilations, like blood vessels, are internal and cannot be seen.

The doctor explained how the vessels dilate to increase blood flow.
Light Sensitivity
Pupil dilation adjusts the eye's sensitivity to light for better vision.

In the dark room, her pupils dilated rapidly.
Physical Reaction
Dilate refers to a natural, involuntary reaction of the body to certain stimuli.

His nostrils dilated as he smelled the freshly baked pie.
Not Always Visible
Some dilations, like blood vessels, are internal and cannot be seen.

The doctor explained how the vessels dilate to increase blood flow.
Light Sensitivity
Pupil dilation adjusts the eye's sensitivity to light for better vision.

In the dark room, her pupils dilated rapidly.
Physical Reaction
Dilate refers to a natural, involuntary reaction of the body to certain stimuli.

His nostrils dilated as he smelled the freshly baked pie.
Not Always Visible
Some dilations, like blood vessels, are internal and cannot be seen.

The doctor explained how the vessels dilate to increase blood flow.
Light Sensitivity
Pupil dilation adjusts the eye's sensitivity to light for better vision.

In the dark room, her pupils dilated rapidly.
Video examples
Is time travel possible?...
with some super-accurate atomic clocks that were synchronized with some others left on the ground. After the plane had flown around the world, the clocks on board showed a different time from those left behind. Of course, at the speed of trains and planes, the effect is minuscule. But the faster you go, the more time dilates.
Video examples
Why we get mad -- and...
otherwise known as your fight-or-flight system, kicking in to offer you the energy you need to respond. And that's just the stuff you noticed. At the same time, your digestive system slowed down so you could conserve energy. That's why your mouth went dry. And your blood vessels dilated to get blood to your extremities.
Video examples
A crash course in...
or it could stop a life-threatening allergic reaction. An injection of this right here will do it. It would be like turning the ignition switch in my body's fight-or-flight machinery. My heart rate, my blood pressure would go up so blood could rush to my muscles. My pupils would dilate. I would feel a wave of strength.
Video examples
The science of...
your pupils dilate, and your body releases glucose for additional energy, not because you're in danger but because your body is telling you that something important is happening. To help you focus, norepinephrine creates a sort of tunnel vision, blocking out surrounding distractions,
Video examples
LA92 Panel - Live PIPE...
open your pupils are dilated welcome to the reality that we've been living living with since we were sensing it as black people thank you for that Jelani dream I'd like to shift to you and talk about how can we support the protesters who are out there
Video examples
The history of human...
then it looks like a simple it's triggered by an external predicament, it's hardwired, it's there to protect us from harm. So you see a bear, your heart rate quickens, your pupils dilate, you feel frightened, you run very, very fast.
Video examples
How do drugs affect the...
dilates pupils, and triggers the body's fight or flight response. Cocaine blocks the reuptake of dopamine and serotonin, pushing more into the network where they boost energy, create feelings of euphoria, and suppress appetites.
Video examples
Photographing Lions With...
these are the infrared covers so they don't blind the cats none of the light that we're using is visible to the cats what it is they're ice type fully dilated for night it doesn't mess up
Video examples
Jaguar Orphan Fights...
he had already fallen he couldn't get up anymore and he was breathing with some difficulty when I looked closer he had his pupil dilated and definitely wasn't normal
Video examples
Controlling time through...
time for me has always been an adversary my life has been about defiant I'm in my work and in my life have sinned how moment can squeeze and dilate and
Video examples
Is time travel possible?...
with some super-accurate atomic clocks that were synchronized with some others left on the ground. After the plane had flown around the world, the clocks on board showed a different time from those left behind. Of course, at the speed of trains and planes, the effect is minuscule. But the faster you go, the more time dilates.
Video examples
Why we get mad -- and...
otherwise known as your fight-or-flight system, kicking in to offer you the energy you need to respond. And that's just the stuff you noticed. At the same time, your digestive system slowed down so you could conserve energy. That's why your mouth went dry. And your blood vessels dilated to get blood to your extremities.
Video examples
A crash course in...
or it could stop a life-threatening allergic reaction. An injection of this right here will do it. It would be like turning the ignition switch in my body's fight-or-flight machinery. My heart rate, my blood pressure would go up so blood could rush to my muscles. My pupils would dilate. I would feel a wave of strength.
Video examples
The science of...
your pupils dilate, and your body releases glucose for additional energy, not because you're in danger but because your body is telling you that something important is happening. To help you focus, norepinephrine creates a sort of tunnel vision, blocking out surrounding distractions,
Video examples
LA92 Panel - Live PIPE...
open your pupils are dilated welcome to the reality that we've been living living with since we were sensing it as black people thank you for that Jelani dream I'd like to shift to you and talk about how can we support the protesters who are out there
Video examples
The history of human...
then it looks like a simple it's triggered by an external predicament, it's hardwired, it's there to protect us from harm. So you see a bear, your heart rate quickens, your pupils dilate, you feel frightened, you run very, very fast.
Video examples
How do drugs affect the...
dilates pupils, and triggers the body's fight or flight response. Cocaine blocks the reuptake of dopamine and serotonin, pushing more into the network where they boost energy, create feelings of euphoria, and suppress appetites.
Video examples
Photographing Lions With...
these are the infrared covers so they don't blind the cats none of the light that we're using is visible to the cats what it is they're ice type fully dilated for night it doesn't mess up
Video examples
Jaguar Orphan Fights...
he had already fallen he couldn't get up anymore and he was breathing with some difficulty when I looked closer he had his pupil dilated and definitely wasn't normal
Video examples
Controlling time through...
time for me has always been an adversary my life has been about defiant I'm in my work and in my life have sinned how moment can squeeze and dilate and
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Sy Montgomery
American Writer
The purpose of fear, clearly, is to help you get away - which it does. If your heart rate increases, there is more blood pumping so you can use that blood to fuel your muscles to run away. Oxygen is sent to the lungs so you can run fast. Pupils dilating help you see in the dark. All of that prepares your body to fight or escape.

Quote examples
Paul Rand
American Designer
Graphic Design, which fulfills aesthetic needs, complies with the laws of form and exigencies of two-dimensional space; which speaks in semiotics, sans-serifs, and geometrics; which abstracts, transforms, translates, rotates, dilates, repeats, mirrors, groups, and regroups, is not good design if it is irrelevant.

Quote examples
Chris Hadfield
Canadian Astronaut
I've been so lucky to have done two spacewalks. If you looked at your wristwatch, I was outside about 15 hours, which is about 10 times around the world. And, you know, there's a whole time dilation, distortion thing.

Quote examples
Daniela Ruah
American Actress
With River's birth, nothing went according to plan. My water broke three weeks early, and after 12 hours of labor and Pitocin, I was in incredible pain and still only one-centimeter dilated.

Quote examples
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
American Poet
Dwellers by the sea are generally superstitious; sailors always are. There is something in the illimitable expanse of sky and water that dilates the imagination.

Quote examples
Ann Hood
American Novelist
When we deal with death, the pupils will always be fixed and dilated, which indicates that there is no longer brain activity or response.

Quote examples
Marcel Proust
French Author
The time at our disposal each day is elastic; the passions we feel dilate it, those that inspire us shrink it, and habit fills it.

Quote examples
Sy Montgomery
American Writer
The purpose of fear, clearly, is to help you get away - which it does. If your heart rate increases, there is more blood pumping so you can use that blood to fuel your muscles to run away. Oxygen is sent to the lungs so you can run fast. Pupils dilating help you see in the dark. All of that prepares your body to fight or escape.

Quote examples
Paul Rand
American Designer
Graphic Design, which fulfills aesthetic needs, complies with the laws of form and exigencies of two-dimensional space; which speaks in semiotics, sans-serifs, and geometrics; which abstracts, transforms, translates, rotates, dilates, repeats, mirrors, groups, and regroups, is not good design if it is irrelevant.

Quote examples
Chris Hadfield
Canadian Astronaut
I've been so lucky to have done two spacewalks. If you looked at your wristwatch, I was outside about 15 hours, which is about 10 times around the world. And, you know, there's a whole time dilation, distortion thing.

Quote examples
Daniela Ruah
American Actress
With River's birth, nothing went according to plan. My water broke three weeks early, and after 12 hours of labor and Pitocin, I was in incredible pain and still only one-centimeter dilated.

Quote examples
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
American Poet
Dwellers by the sea are generally superstitious; sailors always are. There is something in the illimitable expanse of sky and water that dilates the imagination.

Quote examples
Ann Hood
American Novelist
When we deal with death, the pupils will always be fixed and dilated, which indicates that there is no longer brain activity or response.

Quote examples
Marcel Proust
French Author
The time at our disposal each day is elastic; the passions we feel dilate it, those that inspire us shrink it, and habit fills it.

Example 1 of 7
WordUp Chrome Extension
As you browse the web instantly look up words you don’t know.
Get Chrome Extension