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 followed by on or upon ): to expand on a statement.
00:10
Re-expandsis always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Origin: 1400–50;late Middle Englishexpanden < Latinexpandere to spread out, equivalent to ex-ex-1 + pandere to extend, stretch
Related forms
ex·pand·a·ble, ex·pand·i·ble, adjective
ex·pand·a·bil·i·ty, ex·pand·i·bil·i·ty, noun
non·ex·pand·ing, adjective
o·ver·ex·pand, verb
pre·ex·pand, verb (used with object)
re·ex·pand, verb
self-ex·pand·ing, adjective
su·per·ex·pand, verb
un·ex·pand·a·ble, adjective
un·ex·pand·ing, adjective
Can be confused: expand, expend (see synonym study at the current entry).
Synonyms 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 especially 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.
early 15c., "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 1640s. Related: Expanded; expanding.