elaborate

1 of 2

adjective

elab·​o·​rate i-ˈla-b(ə-)rət How to pronounce elaborate (audio)
1
: planned or carried out with great care
took elaborate precautions
2
: marked by complexity, fullness of detail, or ornateness
elaborate prose
elaborately adverb
elaborateness noun

elaborate

2 of 2

verb

elab·​o·​rate i-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt How to pronounce elaborate (audio)
elaborated; elaborating

intransitive verb

1
: to expand something in detail
would you care to elaborate on that statement
2
: to become elaborate (see elaborate entry 1)

transitive verb

1
: to work out in detail : develop
elaborate a theory
2
: to produce by labor
3
: to build up (something, such as complex organic compounds) from simple ingredients
elaboration noun
elaborative adjective

Examples of elaborate in a Sentence

Adjective Jumping spiders, the largest family of spiders, have excellent eyesight and perform elaborate courtship and threat displays, often characterized by ritualized body postures and leg waving. Simon Pollard, Natural History, March 1995
Mostly, I think, because it's wicked hot today, I've been having elaborate fantasies about the perfect hot-weather lunch: two dozen freshly opened Little Necks and a couple bottles of ice-cold lager. None of that red "cocktail" sauce on 'em either, just lemon and coarse black pepper. Vladimir Estragon, Waiting for Dessert, 1982
On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter, 1850
They made elaborate preparations for his visit. I see now that her behavior was all part of an elaborate plan. The dancers were wearing elaborate costumes. He told the story in elaborate detail. Verb … the National Weather Service … advised all citizens in New Orleans's water-filled neighborhoods "to take the necessary tools for survival." The Weather Service elaborated: "Those going into attics should try to take an axe or hatchet with them so they can cut their way onto the roof to avoid drowning should rising flood waters continue to rise into the attic." Christopher Cooper & Robert Block, Diaster, 2006
In each evening's sleep sustained dream scenarios, elaborated over periods lasting up to an hour, alternate with thought-like mentation in 90-minute-cycles. Jeffrey Saver, London Review of Books, 4 Aug. 1988
I'll be glad to elaborate if you want to hear more. She was asked to say more about her earlier statements, but she declined to elaborate.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
Avery added that the design process with Gucci and Gosling is not as elaborate as some may imagine. Degen Pener, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Mar. 2024 Jeanie learns to cope by making elaborate scrapbooks, a practice that moves Lily to tears — partially because her father had done the opposite, cutting her out of old family photos. Selome Hailu, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024 At the time, Mr. Duress’s plans for the future consisted of elaborate ideas for con jobs that his friends tended to laugh off as unrealistic, Ms. Holmes said in a phone interview. Alex Traub, New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Each contestant is assigned a new persona and wears an elaborate costume associated with it to hide their true identity from the judges and audience. Francesca Gariano, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024 Recently, state residents that live near large-scale mining facilities have begun to complain about adverse second-order effects, particularly noise pollution generated by the elaborate cooling systems required to keep mining hardware from overheating. Joel Khalili, WIRED, 6 Mar. 2024 On the other hand, Scotch whisky packaging is becoming more elaborate and ornate, especially for premium expressions. Joseph V Micallef, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 The tanks have an elaborate oxygen and aeration system monitored with a set of 10 gauges in the truck’s cab. Debra Skodack, Kansas City Star, 28 Feb. 2024 By harnessing more elaborate superpositions involving many qubits, quantum computers can perform certain computations much faster than any conventional machine. Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 23 Feb. 2024
Verb
In the call with reporters, Taylor declined to elaborate on how the conflict of interest policy was being updated. Nitasha Tiku, Washington Post, 8 Mar. 2024 Below, Johnson elaborates more about crafting the final episode of the series, picking Mariana’s endgame relationship and speculates about the characters’ futures. Megan Vick, Variety, 6 Mar. 2024 After some pushback, the department added a comment box for schools to elaborate on their yes or no answers. Nick Sullivan, The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024 Langford further elaborated on working with the Rangers coaching staff. Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Mar. 2024 There was no word on a motive, and police did not elaborate on the circumstances that precipitated the incident. Faris Tanyos, CBS News, 1 Mar. 2024 Brown elaborated on the tale during Thursday’s episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Hanna Lustig, Glamour, 1 Mar. 2024 Aron didn’t elaborate on which artists were in talks with AMC. Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 29 Feb. 2024 Without elaborating in detail, AT&T offered an explanation on what might have caused a nationwide outage Thursday that left tens of thousands of frustrated customers without wireless cellphone service. Joey Garrison, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'elaborate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Verb

Latin elaboratus, from past participle of elaborare to work out, acquire by labor, from e- + laborare to work — more at laboratory

First Known Use

Adjective

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1611, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of elaborate was in 1592

Dictionary Entries Near elaborate

Cite this Entry

“Elaborate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elaborate. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

elaborate

1 of 2 adjective
elab·​o·​rate i-ˈlab-(ə-)rət How to pronounce elaborate (audio)
: made or done with great care or with much detail
elaborate plans
an elaborate design
elaborately adverb
elaborateness noun

elaborate

2 of 2 verb
elab·​o·​rate i-ˈlab-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce elaborate (audio)
elaborated; elaborating
1
: to work out in detail : develop
elaborate an idea
2
: to give more details
elaborate on a story
elaboration noun
elaborative adjective

Medical Definition

elaborate

transitive verb
elab·​o·​rate i-ˈlab-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce elaborate (audio)
elaborated; elaborating
of a living organism
: to alter the chemical makeup of (as a foodstuff) to one more suited to bodily needs (as of assimilation or excretion)
especially : to build up (complex organic compounds) from simple ingredients
the toxin elaborated by the tetanus bacterium

More from Merriam-Webster on elaborate

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