expanse
[ik-spans]
- an uninterrupted space or area; a wide extent of anything: an expanse of water.
- something that is spread out, especially over a relatively large area: that great expanse, the sky.
- expansion; extension: the wide expanse of scientific knowledge.
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Origin of expanse
1660–70; < New Latin expānsum, noun use of neuter of Latin expānsus, past participle of expandere to expand
Synonyms
See more synonyms for expanse on Thesaurus.com1. sweep, reach, range, stretch.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for expanse
Contemporary Examples
Kim Novak runs away from James Stewart, across an expanse of field.
Somewhere in that expanse of California sky, I know Edith Jefferson will be doing the jitterbug.
David Jefferson on His Four Gay Marriages and a Legal Victory Against Prop 8David Jefferson
February 7, 2012
Historical Examples
To the cast and north of our hill was an expanse of rolling, desolate wilderness.
The Long Labrador TrailDillon Wallace
But take, for the moment, the mere obvious matter of expanse of territory.
The American MindBliss Perry
An expanse of smooth turf lay between the window and the sidewalk.
A Yankee Flier Over BerlinAl Avery
The ceiling was an expanse of ornament, with an electric chandelier for centre.
A Great ManArnold Bennett
Beyond the volcano Jim could see what looked like an expanse of ocean.
expanse
- an uninterrupted surface of something that spreads or extends, esp over a wide area; stretchan expanse of water
- expansion or extension
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Word Origin
C17: from New Latin expansum the heavens, from Latin expansus spread out, from expandere to expand
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
Word Origin and History for expanse
n.
1660s, from Latin expansum, noun use of neuter of expansus, past participle of expandere (see expand).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper