expanse

[ik-spans]

noun

1. an uninterrupted space or area; a wide extent of anything.

   an expanse of water.

   Synonyms: stretch, range, reach, sweep

2. something that is spread out, especially over a relatively large area.

   that great expanse, the sky.

3. expansion; extension.

   the wide expanse of scientific knowledge.

expanse

/ ɪkˈspæns /

noun

1. an uninterrupted surface of something that spreads or extends, esp over a wide area; stretch

   an expanse of water

2. expansion or extension

Word History and Origins

Origin of expanse¹

1660–70; < New Latin expānsum, noun use of neuter of Latin expānsus, past participle of expandere to expand

Word History and Origins

Origin of expanse¹

C17: from New Latin expansum the heavens, from Latin expansus spread out, from expandere to _expand

Example Sentences

It was enough to make a person feel no more than a speck, a scrap of flotsam or jetsam tossing in the waves, to be cast willy-nilly into such an unimaginable expanse.

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Now she could see quite easily, for the moon was only one night shy of full, and the sky was crisp and clear, an expanse of black velvet pinpricked by stars.

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If Penelope had been in a jollier mood, the idea of Mrs. Clarke in a pair of ice skates, gracefully twirling and leaping across a frozen expanse, would have made her struggle not to laugh.

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Wide porches—one upstairs and one downstairs—ran the expanse of the front of the house.

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It was a carrack, that type of vessel with high structures called “castles” in its bow and stern and a low expanse of decking in the middle.

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Related Words

• plain 
• stretch 
• tract 
• wilderness