elab·o·rate
i-ˈla-b(ə-)rət 
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
elab·o·rate
i-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt
elaborated; elaborating
1
: to expand something in detail
would you care to elaborate on that statement
2
: to become elaborate (see elaborate entry 1)
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
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.
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
Justin Chang, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025
For opening night of Good Night, and Good Luck at Winter Garden Theatre in New York City on April 3, Lopez stunned in a strapless black gown with a plunging neckline with a lightly colored caftan cape that flowed down to an elaborate train.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Apr. 2025
Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters elaborated on the company’s prospects.
—Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elaborate
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Adjective
The wedding started as an elaborate three-way ruse concocted by Wai-Tung, a gay Taiwanese American man; his white boyfriend, Simon (Mitchell Lichtenstein); and Wei-Wei, an undocumented Chinese immigrant.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 19 Apr. 2025
For opening night of Good Night, and Good Luck at Winter Garden Theatre in New York City on April 3, Lopez stunned in a strapless black gown with a plunging neckline with a lightly colored caftan cape that flowed down to an elaborate train.
—Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 19 Apr. 2025
Verb
The second baseman claimed that Bacon said some things that ultimately riled him up, but Chisholm declined to elaborate.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Apr. 2025
Netflix’s co-CEO Greg Peters elaborated on the company’s prospects.
—Peter Cohan, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elaborate
Cite this Entry
“Elaborate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elaborate. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
elaborate
1 of 2 adjective
elab·o·rate
i-ˈlab-(ə-)rət
: 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
elaborated; elaborating
1
: to work out in detail : develop
elaborate an idea
2
: to give more details
elaborate on a story
Medical Definition
elaborate
transitive verb
elab·o·rate
i-ˈlab-ə-ˌrāt
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
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