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

At regular concentrations of about 1 percent, atropine is used to dilate the pupil for eye exams.

From National Geographic ● Nov. 1, 2023

For example, the pupil tends to dilate during complex cognitive tasks or in response to unexpected stimuli.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2023

His pupils contract to pinpoints, dilate again rapidly, and then return to something resembling normalcy.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

It's a different sort of time and it moves, it dilates.

From Salon ● Feb. 6, 2024

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

The drug also dilates the cervix and blocks the effects of progesterone, which is needed to sustain a pregnancy.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 8, 2022

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

In a dark room, a doctor pointed to an hourglass shape glowing on the ultrasound screen: There was her amniotic sac, funneling into her dilated cervix, and there was their tiny daughter’s foot, dipping out.

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

Then he looked into his eyes, which appeared dilated, and saw that his face was purple.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025

His pupils had dilated in the lamplight, absorbing the hazel of the iris.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

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

The gray-haired man, his nostrils dilating, appeared to take a fairly deep breath.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger