ex·pan·sion

[ik-span-shuhn]
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 a 2 + 2 ab + b 2 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 + x 2 + … 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; < Late Latin expānsiōn- (stem of expānsiō) a spreading out. See expanse, -ion

ex·pan·sion·al, adjective
an·ti·ex·pan·sion, adjective
non·ex·pan·sion, noun
o·ver·ex·pan·sion, noun
pre·ex·pan·sion, noun
re·ex·pan·sion, noun
self-ex·pan·sion, noun
su·per·ex·pan·sion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To expansion
00:10
Expansion is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
Collins
World English Dictionary
expansion (ɪkˈspænʃən) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  the act of expanding or the state of being expanded
2.  something expanded; an expanded surface or part
3.  the degree, extent, or amount by which something expands
4.  an increase, enlargement, or development, esp in the activities of a company
5.  maths
 a.  the form of an expression or function when it is written as the sum or product of its terms
 b.  the act or process of determining this expanded form
6.  the part of an engine cycle in which the working fluid does useful work by increasing in volume
7.  the increase in the dimensions of a body or substance when subjected to an increase in temperature, internal pressure, etc
 
ex'pansionary
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

expansion
1610s, "anything spread out;" 1640s, "act of expanding," from Fr. expansion, L.L. expansionem (nom. expansio) "a spreading out," from L. expandere (see expand).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
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
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
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.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
The expansion was brought on by the rapid growth of online learning.
Population and economic growth are examples of a compound-interest expansion.
The longer the economy's expansion goes on, the slower productivity growth is
  bound to be.
In all of those scenarios, there would be less money in the economy that can be
  used for expansion and growth.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT