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expansion - 7 dictionary results

ex⋅pan⋅sion

  [ik-span-shuhn]
Use expansion in a Sentence
–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
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ex·pan·sion   (ĭk-spān'shən)   
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Expansion

Ex*pan"sion\, n. [L. expansio: cf. F. expansion.]

1. The act of expanding or spreading out; the condition of being expanded; dilation; enlargement.

2. That which is expanded; expanse; extend surface; as, the expansion of a sheet or of a lake; the expansion was formed of metal.

The starred expansion of the skies. --Beattie.

3. Space through which anything is expanded; also, pure space.

Lost in expansion, void and infinite. --Blackmore.

4. (Com.) Enlargement or extension of business transactions; esp., increase of the circulation of bank notes.

5. (Math.) The developed result of an indicated operation; as, the expansion of (a + b)^2 is a^2 + 2ab + b^2.

6. (Steam Engine) The operation of steam in a cylinder after its communication with the boiler has been cut off, by which it continues to exert pressure upon the moving piston.

7. (Nav. Arch.) The enlargement of the ship mathematically from a model or drawing to the full or building size, in the process of construction. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Note: Expansion is also used adjectively, as in expansion joint, expansion gear, etc.

Expansion curve, a curve the co["o]rdinates of which show the relation between the pressure and volume of expanding gas or vapor; esp. (Steam engine), that part of an indicator diagram which shows the declining pressure of the steam as it expands in the cylinder.

Expansion gear (Steam Engine). a cut-off gear. See Illust. of Link motion.

Automatic expansion gear or cut-off, one that is regulated by the governor, and varies the supply of steam to the engine with the demand for power.

Fixed expansion gear, or Fixed cut-off, one that always operates at the same fixed point of the stroke.

Expansion joint, or Expansion coupling (Mech. & Engin.), a yielding joint or coupling for so uniting parts of a machine or structure that expansion, as by heat, is prevented from causing injurious strains; as by heat, is prevented from causing injurious strains; as: (a) A side or set of rollers, at the end of bridge truss, to support it but allow end play. (b) A telescopic joint in a steam pipe, to permit one part of the pipe to slide within the other. (c) A clamp for holding a locomotive frame to the boiler while allowing lengthwise motion.

Expansion valve (Steam Engine), a cut-off valve, to shut off steam from the cylinder before the end of each stroke.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : expansion
Spanish: dilatación, expansión,
German: die Ausdehnung,
Japanese: 拡張
More Translations »

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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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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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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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. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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