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expandability

 - 2 dictionary results

ex⋅pand

[ik-spand]
–verb (used with object)
1. to increase in extent, size, volume, scope, etc.: Heat expands most metals. He hopes to expand his company.
2. to spread or stretch out; unfold: A bird expands its wings.
3. to express in fuller form or greater detail; develop: to expand a short story into a novel.
4. Mathematics.
a. to write (a mathematical expression) so as to show the products of its factors. Compare factor (def. 10).
b. to rewrite (a mathematical expression) as a sum, product, etc., of terms of a particular kind: to expand a function in a power series.
–verb (used without object)
5. to increase or grow in extent, bulk, scope, etc.: Most metals expand with heat. The mind expands with experience.
6. to spread out; unfold; develop: The buds had not yet expanded.
7. to express something more fully or in greater detail (usually fol. by on or upon): to expand on a statement.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME expanden < L expandere to spread out, equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + pandere to extend, stretch


ex⋅pand⋅a⋅ble, ex⋅pand⋅i⋅ble, adjective
ex⋅pand⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, ex⋅pand⋅i⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun


1. extend, swell, enlarge. See increase. Expand, dilate, distend, inflate imply becoming larger and filling more space. To expand is to spread out, usually in every direction: to expand one's chest. To dilate is esp. to increase the width or circumference, and applies to space enclosed within confines or to hollow bodies: to dilate the pupils of the eyes. To distend is to stretch, often beyond the point of natural expansion: to distend an artery. To inflate is to blow out or swell a hollow body with air or gas: to inflate a balloon.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Word Origin & History

expand 
1422, "spread out, spread flat," from Anglo-Fr. espaundre, from L. expandere "to spread out," from ex- "out" + pandere "to spread." Sense of "grow larger" first recorded c.1645. Expansionist "one who advocates the expansion of the territory of his nation" is from 1862.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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