expansion

American  

[ik-span-shuhn] / ɪkˈspæn ʃən /

noun

1. the act or process of expanding.

2. the state or quality of being expanded.

3. the amount or degree of expanding.

4. an expanded, dilated, or enlarged portion or form of a thing.

   The present article is an expansion of one he wrote last year.

5. anything spread out; expanse.

6. Mathematics.

   1. the development at length of an expression indicated in a contracted form, as a 2 + 2 ab + b 2 for the expression (a +b ) 2 .

   2. any mathematical series that converges to a function for specified values in the domain of the function, as 1 + x + x 2 + … for 1/(1 −x ) when x < 1.

7. Machinery. that part of the operation of an engine in which the volume of the working medium increases and its pressure decreases.

8. an increase in economic and industrial activity (contraction ).

9. additional content for a video game, card game, board game, etc., that significantly expands or alters the way the game is played.

   I really improved my deck with cards from the latest expansion.

   You can play the stand-alone expansion without ever buying the original game.

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expansion British  

/ ɪkˈspænʃən /

noun

1. the act of expanding or the state of being expanded

2. something expanded; an expanded surface or part

3. the degree, extent, or amount by which something expands

4. an increase, enlargement, or development, esp in the activities of a company

5. maths

   1. the form of an expression or function when it is written as the sum or product of its terms

   2. the act or process of determining this expanded form

6. the part of an engine cycle in which the working fluid does useful work by increasing in volume

7. the increase in the dimensions of a body or substance when subjected to an increase in temperature, internal pressure, etc

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expansion Scientific  

/ ĭk-spăn′shən /

1. An increase in the volume of a substance while its mass remains the same. Expansion is usually due to heating. When substances are heated, the molecular bonds between their particles are weakened, and the particles move faster, causing the substance to expand.

2. A number or other mathematical expression written in an extended form. For example, a ² + 2 ab + b ² is the expansion of (a + b) ².

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Other Word Forms

• antiexpansion adjective
• expansional adjective
• expansionary adjective
• nonexpansion noun
• overexpansion noun
• preexpansion noun
• reexpansion noun
• self-expansion noun
• superexpansion noun

Etymology

Origin of expansion

First recorded in 1605–15; from Late Latin expānsiōn-, stem of expānsiō; equivalent to expanse + -ion

Example Sentences

Demand for iron ore has been driven by rapid infrastructure expansion and industrial growth in India, which is on track to become the world's fourth largest economy.

From Barron's

Palantir “is in a category of one” due to its revenue growth and margin expansion, which are “unlike anything else in software,” the firm wrote.

From Barron's

She and her husband were enthusiastic backers of the Cox Science Center and Aquarium’s expansion efforts and are listed on its website as capital campaign supporters.

From The Wall Street Journal

We Pay The Tariffs, a coalition of small businesses that has spoken out against the tariffs, said the trade war has put hiring and expansion plans on hold over the past year.

From MarketWatch

"The massive sequencing effort and layering of sequence and structural methods enabled us to see patterns that were not visible prior to this genomic expansion."

From Science Daily

Related Words

• development
• enlargement
• extension
• increase
• inflation
• spread