Expansion - Definitions from Dictionary.com

6 results for: Expansion

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·pan·sion

Audio Help [ik-span-shuh

n] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	the act or process of expanding.

2.	the state or quality of being expanded.

3.	the amount or degree of expanding.

4.	an expanded, dilated, or enlarged portion or form of a thing: The present article is an expansion of one he wrote last year.

5.	anything spread out; expanse.

Mathematics.

a.	the development at length of an expression indicated in a contracted form, as a² + 2ab + b² for the expression (a + b)².

b.	any mathematical series that converges to a function for specified values in the domain of the function, as 1 + x + x² + … for 1/(1 − x) when x < 1.

7.	Machinery. that part of the operation of an engine in which the volume of the working medium increases and its pressure decreases.

8.	an increase in economic and industrial activity (opposed to contraction).

[Origin: 1605–15; < LL expānsiōn- (s. of expānsiō) a spreading out. See expanse, -ion

]

—Related forms

ex·pan·sion·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Expansion

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·pan·sion Audio Help (ĭk-spān'shən) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. The act or process of expanding: the new nation's expansion westward.
2. The state of being expanded.
3. An expanded part: an expansion of a river.
4. A product of expanding: a book that is an expansion of the author's Ph.D. thesis.
5. A quantity written in an extended form, such as in a sum or product of terms.
6. The process of obtaining this form.
1. An expanded part: an expansion of a river.
2. A product of expanding: a book that is an expansion of the author's Ph.D. thesis.
3. A quantity written in an extended form, such as in a sum or product of terms.
4. The process of obtaining this form.
The extent or amount by which something has expanded.
Mathematics
1. A quantity written in an extended form, such as in a sum or product of terms.
2. The process of obtaining this form.
An expanse.
A period of increased economic or business activity.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

expansion
noun
1.	the act of increasing (something) in size or volume or quantity or scope [ant: contraction]
2.	a function expressed as a sum or product of terms; "the expansion of (a+b)^2 is a^2 + 2ab + b^2"
3.	a discussion that provides additional information
4.	adding information or detail

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
exˈpansion [-ʃən] noun

the act or state of expanding
Example: the expansion of metals

Arabic:	تَوَسُّع ، تَمَدُّد
Chinese (Simplified):	扩张
Chinese (Traditional):	擴張
Czech:	roztažení
Danish:	udvidelse; ekspansion
Dutch:	uitzetting, uitbreiding
Estonian:	paisumine
Finnish:	laajeneminen
French:	dilatation
German:	die Ausdehnung
Greek:	επέκταση, διαστολή
Hungarian:	kitágítás
Icelandic:	þensla
Indonesian:	pengembangan
Italian:	espansione

Japanese:	拡張
Korean:	확장
Latvian:	izplešana; izplešanās; paplašināšana; paplašināšanās
Lithuanian:	iš(si)plėtimas
Norwegian:	utviding, utvidelse, utfoldelse
Polish:	rozszerzanie (się)
Portuguese (Brazil):	expansão
Portuguese (Portugal):	expansão, *ampliação
Romanian:	dilatare
Russian:	расширение
Slovak:	rozťažnosť
Slovenian:	širjenje
Spanish:	dilatación, expansión
Swedish:	utbredande, expansion
Turkish:	genişleme

See also: expanse, expand

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

expansion Audio Help (ĭk-spān'shən) Pronunciation Key

An increase in the volume of a substance while its mass remains the same. Expansion is usually due to heating. When substances are heated, the molecular bonds between their particles are weakened, and the particles move faster, causing the substance to expand.
A number or other mathematical expression written in an extended form. For example, a² + 2ab + b² is the expansion of (a + b)².

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Expansion

Cut"-off`\ (k[u^]t"[o^]f`; 115), n. 1. That which cuts off or shortens, as a nearer passage or road.

2. (Mach.) (a) The valve gearing or mechanism by which steam is cut off from entering the cylinder of a steam engine after a definite point in a stroke, so as to allow the remainder of the stroke to be made by the expansive force of the steam already let in. See Expansion gear, under Expansion. (b) Any device for stopping or changing a current, as of grain or water in a spout.

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