Distend is defined as to stretch out or to become swollen.
(verb)An example of to distend is for an elbow to swell up from an internal injury.
See distend in Webster's New World College Dictionary
transitive verb, intransitive verb
Origin: ME distenden < L distendere < dis-, apart + tendere, to stretch: see tend
See distend in American Heritage Dictionary 4
verb dis·tend·ed, dis·tend·ing, dis·tends verb, intransitive
Origin:
Origin: Middle English distenden
Origin: , from Latin distendere
Origin: : dis-, dis-
Origin: + tendere, to stretch; see ten- in Indo-European roots
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