extender

[ ik-sten-der ]

noun

1. a substance added to another substance, as to paint or food, to increase its volume or bulk:

   to add cereal and soy protein to hamburger as extenders.

2. Photography. converter8

extender

/ ɪkˈstɛndə /

noun

1. a person or thing that extends
2. a substance, such as French chalk or china clay, added to paints to give them body and decrease their rate of settlement
3. a substance added to glues and resins to dilute them or to modify their viscosity
4. a substance added to elastomers to assist the plasticizer
5. printing the part of certain lower-case letters that extends either above (the ascender) or below (the descender) the body of the letter

Word History and Origins

Origin of extender¹

First recorded in 1605–15; extend + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Squish factor: The off-road Jeep tour didn’t have a seatbelt extender, so I had to sit in the front seat to fit comfortably.

From Salon

“Oh! You can’t sit in an exit row with a seat belt extender!”

From Seattle Times

A precision router — the electric power tool, not the Wi-Fi internet extender — traced the vertical cracks, smoothing and leveling hairline breaks in the wood.

From Los Angeles Times

Photographer’s description: “My wife and I had a wonderful day with the snow geese in the Skagit Valley. We heard that the snowy owls return sometime in November, so late in the afternoon we drove to the meadow where they are most commonly seen. The activity was far away, but we remained patient, and shortly before sunset, we were rewarded with a nice, warm sunset view of a snowy owl searching for prey. Canon R3 with Canon RF600 mm lens and 1.4 extender.”

From Seattle Times

The gate agent hands Garris an extra boarding pass, she walks onto the plane, asks for a seat-belt extender, takes a window seat and places the extra boarding pass in the middle seat.

From Los Angeles Times