Synonyms

expand

American

[ik-spand] / ɪkˈspænd /

verb (used with object)

to increase in extent, size, volume, scope, etc..

Heat expands most metals. He hopes to expand his company.

Synonyms:

enlarge, swell, extend
to spread or stretch out; unfold.

A bird expands its wings.
to express in fuller form or greater detail; develop.

to expand a short story into a novel.
Mathematics.
1. to write (a mathematical expression) so as to show the products of its factors.
2. 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)

to increase or grow in extent, bulk, scope, etc..

Most metals expand with heat. The mind expands with experience.
to spread out; unfold; develop.

The buds had not yet expanded.
to express something more fully or in greater detail (usually followed by on orupon ).

to expand on a statement.

expand British

/ ɪkˈspænd /

verb

to make or become greater in extent, volume, size, or scope; increase
to spread out or be spread out; unfold; stretch out
to enlarge or expatiate on (a story, topic, etc) in detail
(intr) to become increasingly relaxed, friendly, or talkative
maths to express (a function or expression) as the sum or product of terms

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does expand mean? To expand is to increase the extent or dimensions of something, as when a balloon expands when you blow air into it. Expand can describe the increasing size of something in height, width, length, scope, boundary, or any other measurable unit of size, as when you expand an app menu by clicking on a down arrow. To expand can also mean to stretch out or unfold, such as when a bird expands its wings when it gets ready to fly. Figuratively, to expand means to develop or to express more fully, as in Disney really expanded the Star Wars universe when it bought the rights to it. A common use of expand is in the phrase expand upon, meaning to give greater detail or context. When teachers tell you to expand upon your essay’s theme, for example, they want you to describe the theme in more detail or give the theme more context so that readers will understand it better. Example: Click and drag the corner of the square to expand it on the digital canvas.

Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of expand

First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English expanden, from Latin expandere “to spread out,” equivalent to ex- ex- ¹ + pandere “to extend, stretch”

Explanation

The verb expand means to make something bigger or wider. It might refer to something concrete, as when you blow into a balloon and make it expand, or something more abstract, as when you study to expand your mind. Expand is a combination of the Latin words ex-, meaning "out," and pandere, "to spread." The idea of spreading out was always there, though the current idea of something actually becoming larger was first recorded in the mid-17th century. Expand is a versatile word that can refer to anything getting bigger, from a nation's growing influence in a neighboring country to a waistline that needs a larger belt.

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

expand expands expanded expanding

Last Wednesday, Treasury unexpectedly announced it would expand existing buyback plans to at least $4 billion in the eight total scheduled buyback operations through Nov. 4.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange plan to expand trading hours in December.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

The U.S. government has invested $150 million over the past decade to expand apprenticeships, of which $100 million is put toward cybersecurity, AI and healthcare.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026

The five-day 2026 World Robot Conference, which started on Wednesday, comes as the country continues to expand its robotics industry.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

He continued to expand the search, activating manhunters in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

“We’re rapidly expanding our compute capacity to meet our own needs as Grok expands as well as those for other leading companies such as Google and Anthropic.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

Co-produced by Jack Antonoff, the singer-songwriter’s third album expands on her signature honest lyricism and reverb-infused indie-folk style.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

The group has yet to turn a profit, even as it expands into areas including cryptocurrency holdings and clean-energy investments.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

Set prior to the events of the novels and TV show, “The Mad King” expands on known Westeros lore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

But when the quiet expands and the tea grows cold, my thoughts return to the queen and Princess Charlotte, and Ivy's fears.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

California expanded its film and TV tax credit program last year, more than doubling the old $330-million cap to $750 million through June 30, 2030.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

This statute greatly expanded the protections granted to authors.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

The same can be seen around Kochav Hashahar, where the existing settlement has been expanded in multiple directions, with construction of roads, houses and a new settler outpost on surrounding land.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The increased issuance of short-end Treasurys to finance the U.S. government’s expanded buybacks ties the government’s financing costs more closely to the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, Danske Bank’s Filip Andersson said in an note.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

As the population expanded, Malthus reasoned, its resource pool would be depleted, and competition between individuals would grow severe.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Nvidia is also expanding its customer base to include more enterprises and sovereign programs, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

"That is why the United States has put forward a strong resolution that provides for four key things," beginning with "expanding the arms embargo across the entire territory of Sudan," he said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 24, 2026

The agency is also expanding the scope of its investigation to encompass all GM vehicles that use the system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

I revised the syllabus to accommodate the expanding model.

From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026

We pass diggers and tractors tearing up the earth, expanding the camp.

From "Without Refuge" by Jane Mitchell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023