elaborate

If someone asks you for the gist of a story, they want a simple explanation. But if they ask you to elaborate, they want more detail. To elaborate means to add more information and develop an idea further. It can also describe something that is very detailed or carefully decorated, like a cake with fancy frosting.

Think of it as taking a basic idea and building on it. A speaker might elaborate on a point during a talk, adding examples and explanation. An artist might elaborate on a sketch, turning it into a finished painting. You can also talk about an elaborate costume, plan, or meal when it has many parts or a lot of detail.

To elaborate means to add detail, expand on something, or develop it further. When someone says, "Can you elaborate?" they are asking for a fuller explanation with more facts, examples, or steps. A teacher may ask a student to elaborate on an answer, or a manager may ask a team member to elaborate on a plan.

As an adjective, elaborate describes something that has many parts or a lot of careful detail. An elaborate costume may have beads, layers, and special stitching. An elaborate meal may include many dishes and careful presentation. In this sense, the word often suggests time, effort, or decoration.

The word comes from the Latin elaborare, meaning to work out with effort. That history fits both main uses: explaining something in more detail, and creating something with a lot of detail. Depending on context, elaborate can sound positive, neutral, or slightly negative. An elaborate design may sound impressive, but an elaborate excuse may sound too complicated and hard to believe.

So whether you are adding more to an explanation or describing something rich in detail, elaborate is about making things fuller, more detailed, and more carefully worked out.