Crossword Genius

Eagle on top of tree bursting to stretch out (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

elongate

'stretch out' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'eagle on top of tree bursting' is the wordplay.
'top of' indicates taking the first letters.
'bursting' indicates anagramming the letters.
The first letter of 'tree' is 't'.
'eagle'+'on'+'t'='eagleont'
'eagleont' anagrammed gives 'ELONGATE'.

'to' is the link.

(Other definitions for elongate that I've seen before include "Open out" , "Stretch, pull" , "appearing to be slender" , "Make longer" , "Stretch, lengthen" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.