dilate

Atropine eye drops are typically used to dilate the pupil before eye exams.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025

A typical remedy is to stretch or dilate the urethra, a minimally invasive procedure that is often performed with general anesthesia, Dr. Lepor said.

From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024

Just as the eye's pupils constrict or dilate like a camera's aperture to adjust how much light gets in, the ears too have their own way to regulate hearing.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2023

Although it is not an ordinary high blood pressure medicine, it can dilate blood vessels.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

I stand in the room, letting the pupils of my eyes dilate, like a cat’s or owl’s.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Their study, published Dec. 5 in the journal Cell, focuses on nitric oxide, a compound that dilates blood vessels, improves memory, fights infection and stimulates the release of hormones, among other functions.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2023

Adenosine is a by-product of energy metabolism, but it also acts as an inhibitory neurotransmitter—a chemical messenger that affects brain cells and dilates blood vessels.

From Scientific American ● Oct. 25, 2023

It no longer dilates, and Hagelin struggled with depth perception early in his rehabilitation.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2023

While mifepristone blocks progesterone, a hormone needed to support pregnancy, misoprostol contracts and dilates the cervix to expel the embryo.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2023

It sucks and booms and splashes and rumbles; it shifts and dilates and falls over itself; the labyrinth of Saint-Malo has opened onto a portal of sound larger than anything she has ever experienced.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

And if the aorta is dilated a certain amount, patients often undergo an elective surgery to fix it.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026

The fetus’ head was pressed up against her dilated cervix, and a miscarriage was, according to her medical record, “inevitable.”

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

About 35 minutes in, Lamphere’s vitals started spiking; her heart rate quickened, she grew hot, her pupils dilated, she began grinding her teeth.

From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026

After she was released, she went to the hospital where doctors told her she had already dilated two centimeters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025

His eyes were nearly black, the pupils dilated.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo

Scholars and intellectuals dilating in their little books: None of that matters anymore.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

Erectile dysfunction drugs, which work by dilating blood vessels to allow more blood to flow through, were first developed to treat high blood pressure.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2024

The exhaustive format played to President Macron's strengths: his mastery of detail and obvious delight in dilating on every conceivable subject.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024

Some also have trouble with the lining of their small blood vessels not dilating and constricting properly to move blood through, she added.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2023

“I won’t stop you,” Nita whispered, her eyes dilating in terror.

From "Ship Breaker" by Paolo Bacigalupi