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Expansion
9 dictionary results for: Expansion
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ex·pan·sion       [ik-span-shuhn] 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.
6.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.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ex·pan·sion       (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.
  3. The extent or amount by which something has expanded.
  4. 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.
  5. An expanse.
  6. 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.
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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 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
expansion       (ĭk-spān'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. 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.
  2. A number or other mathematical expression written in an extended form. For example, a2 + 2ab + b2 is the expansion of (a + b)2.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

expansion ex·pan·sion (ĭk-spān'shən)
n.

  1. An increase in size.
  2. The spreading out of a structure, such as a tendon.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: ex·pan·sion
Pronunciation: ik-'span-ch&n
Function: noun
1 : the act or process of expanding expansion of the dissolved nitrogen without actual bubble formation —H. G. Armstrong>
2 : the quality or state of being expanded

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Investopedia - Cite This Source - Share This

Expansion

The phase of the business cycle when the economy moves from a trough to a peak. It is a period when business activity surges and gross domestic product expands until it reaches a peak. Also known as an "economic recovery".

Investopedia Commentary

An expansion is one of two basic business cycle phases. The other is contraction. The transition from expansion to contraction is termed a "peak" and the changeover from contraction to expansion is a trough. Expansions last on average about three to four years but have been known to last anywhere from 12 months to more than 10 years. Much of the '60s was a time of expansion which lasted almost nine years.

Related Links

Economics Basics Tutorial
Recession: What Does It Mean To Investors?
Sector Rotation: The Essentials

See also: Business Cycle, Contraction, National Bureau of Economic Research, Peak, Recession, Trough

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
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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.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

expansion

expansion: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

On-line Medical Dictionary, © 1997-98 Academic Medical Publishing & CancerWEB
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