expanse
Americannoun
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an uninterrupted surface of something that spreads or extends, esp over a wide area; stretch
an expanse of water
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expansion or extension
Etymology
Origin of expanse
1660–70; < New Latin expānsum, noun use of neuter of Latin expānsus, past participle of expandere to expand
Explanation
An expanse is a huge area you can look at all at once. If you climb to the top of a mountain, suggest that your fellow climbers take time to admire the expanse of trees below. Expanse looks like the word expand. Both come from the Latin word expandere, meaning "to spread out, unfold." But where did expandere come from? Ex- means "out" and pandere means "spread or stretch." So an expanse is something that seems to unfold before your eyes, or to put it another way, something that stretches out as far as the eye can see.
Vocabulary lists containing expanse
The Giver
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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Mr. Popper’s Penguins
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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.
To see this served up over and over again in a genre that an expanse of queer women enjoy, and spend money on to support, is just overkill.
From Salon • Apr. 8, 2026
Between the two actors’ faces lies a vast expanse of experience, disappointment, and things that Kay has seen and can’t unsee.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
Silent, Javier Perez walked through the expanse of destroyed vehicles accompanied by his family.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
Sitting in a café overlooking the Gulf of Odesa, navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk gestures towards the expanse of sea beyond the window.
From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026
Emerging from the woods near Hampden, into an expanse of snow-covered meadow that sparkled in the light, I saw twin threads of smoke coming from the age-blacked chimneys at either end of Commons.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
