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
Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2025
No one goes quite as full-out as Klum on Halloween, but of all her elaborate costumes, this one is easier to recreate.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
Police did not elaborate on what led to the fatal incident.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for elaborate
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
Every Derby Day festoon their heads with elaborate hats, fill metal cups with a minty bourbon cocktail, and prepare to watch the horsies run.
—Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 25 Oct. 2025
No one goes quite as full-out as Klum on Halloween, but of all her elaborate costumes, this one is easier to recreate.
—Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
The decorations range in complexity from pumpkins that are beautifully painted or adorned with ribbons to elaborate dioramas where the gourd itself is almost incidental.
—Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
Police did not elaborate on what led to the fatal incident.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 24 Oct. 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 31 Oct. 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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