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expansion

 - 5 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.
Cite This Source Link To expansion
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.
Cite This Source
Financial Dictionary

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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Medical Dictionary

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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Medical Dictionary

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.
Cite This Source
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