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to extend

to extend

15 3.5
To use all your energy or skill to try to do something
  • verb
  • /ɪkˈstɛnd/
: esforzarse
  • And that means we have to extend ourselves and go to where they are.
  • extend efforts
  • extend abilities

And that means we have to extend ourselves and go to where they are.

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Examples

  • The current study has extended these findings to children with and without hearing loss.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The present study extends the work of previous research in several ways.

    Academic text (2013)
  • You need to live to the capacity, you have to extend always.

  • We must train ourselves to extend the moment and learn to live.

  • These expectations extend to him regardless of his medical issues.

  • Class meetings combine lecture, questions, and exercises designed to extend the lecture content.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The results of this study extended our knowledge of coping styles following stressful events in sport among Chinese athletes.

    Academic text (2008)
  • We've got a few back debts, we kind of over-extended ourselves.

  • Our gratitude is extended to Lowell Gaertner for his statistical advisement.

    Academic text (2006)
  • To achieve our goals, we must extend ourselves fully in every effort we make.

Synonyms

to strain
vsto extend
87 4.2

To use a lot of effort to do something difficult

focuses on using personal abilities and resources to utmost degree
to exert
vsto extend
33 4.1

Make a strong physical or mental effort

goes further, implying use of all resources to full capacity
to push to the limit
vsto extend
7 5.1

Make a person or thing work as hard as possible until they cannot keep going

aims to use abilities fully rather than merely test limits
to extend oneself
vsto extend
1 6.9

To make a big effort beyond your usual limits

uses all abilities and resources to the absolute limit

Antonyms

256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

6 4.9

To use something less than its full ability

Idioms

to extend a hand
  • Informal
5 2.9

To offer help or friendship by reaching out your hand to someone

2 4.2

Offer to make peace after an argument

Phrasal Verbs

58 3.4

Reach up to a certain point or limit

To make a big effort beyond your usual limits

How Hard

to overexert
4 6.5
to extend
15 3.5
to strain
87 4.2
to exert
33 4.1
to try
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

extend infinitive
extended past
extended past participle
extending present participle
extends third person singular

Morphology

extend = tend (semi-transparent) = ex + tend

Structurally clear as ex- + tend, but the 'exert to full capacity' sense is a figurative extension and may not be predictable from the common senses of 'tend'.

Etymology

The word extend comes from the Latin extendere, with ex- 'out' and tendere 'to stretch'. A helpful image is 'stretching' yourself to the limit, so to extend yourself means to use all your energy or ability.