extension

[ik-sten-shuhn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR extension ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an act or instance of extending, lengthening, stretching out, or enlarging the scope of something.

the state of being extended, lengthened, or stretched out.

that by which something is extended or enlarged; an addition: a four-room extension to a house.

an additional period of time given one to meet an obligation: My term paper wasn't finished so I asked for an extension.

something that is expandable or can be extended; an extended object: a table with drop-leaf extensions.

range or scope of extending; degree of extensiveness; extent: the extension of our knowledge.

an additional telephone that operates on the principal line.

Commerce. a written engagement on the part of a creditor, allowing a debtor further time to pay a debt.

Physics. that property of a body by which it occupies space.

Anatomy.

the act of straightening a limb.
the position that a limb assumes when it is straightened.

Surgery. the act of pulling the broken or dislocated part of a limb in a direction from the trunk, in order to bring the ends of the bone into their natural situation.

Also called extent. Logic. the class of things to which a term is applicable, as “the class of such beings as Plato and Alexander” to which the term “man” is applicable.Compare intension(def 5).

Mathematics. a function having a domain that includes the domain of a given function and that has the same value as the given function at each point in the domain of the given function.

Also called file extension. Computers. one or more characters at the end of a filename, usually following a period, used to indicate the type of file.

Manège. the act of bringing or coming into an extended attitude.

adjective

of or relating to extension courses.

Origin of extension

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin extēnsiōn- (stem of extēnsiō). See extensive, -ion

Related formsex·ten·sion·al·i·ty, ex·ten·sion·al·ism, nounex·ten·sion·al, adjectiveex·ten·sion·al·ly, adverbex·ten·sion·less, adjectivenon·ex·ten·sion, nounnon·ex·ten·sion·al, adjectivepro·ex·ten·sion, adjectivesu·per·ex·ten·sion, noun

Synonyms for extension

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR extension ON THESAURUS.COM

1. stretching, expansion, enlargement, increase, dilation. 3. lengthening, protraction, continuation. 4. delay. 6. limit.

Antonyms for extension

1. contraction.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for extension

delay, increase, development, expansion, postponement, purview, sweep, production, supplement, radius, arm, stretch, broadening, amplification, span, addition, adjunct, spread, branch, scope

Examples from the Web for extension

Contemporary Examples of extension

But only for the family; inmates cannot be awarded more than $10,000 because of an extension of the Son of Sam Law.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison
Daniel Genis
December 8, 2014
It is also, by extension, a show about the cultural impact of religion.
The Good Wife’s Religion Politics: Voters Have No Faith in Alicia's Atheism
Regina Lizik
November 24, 2014
What he meant was that he personally, and by extension all Christians, should not be judgmental.
Is Pope Francis Backpedaling on Gays?
Jay Michaelson
November 19, 2014
They are 'other,' newly visible, and symbols of the social and, by extension, economic changes in society and in New York.
Is Brooklyn Becoming Unsafe for Gays? It Depends On Which Ones
Jay Michaelson
October 18, 2014
He carried an extension cord in case he needed to recharge at one of his emergency spots.
How Brooklyn’s First Ice Cream Girl Fought City Hall–and Won
Michael Daly
October 13, 2014

Historical Examples of extension

The complexity of life is shown by the extension of the necessity of choice.
The Call of the Twentieth Century
David Starr Jordan
I expect the Marchesa got him an extension of leave from the Colonel.
Casanova's Homecoming
Arthur Schnitzler
The North did not believe in slavery, or at least in the extension of slavery.
The Nation in a Nutshell
George Makepeace Towle
In recent years an extension of nine miles has been added to it.
The Railroad Question
William Larrabee
In larger boats the jib-boom is an extension of the bowsprit.
Boys' Book of Model Boats
Raymond Francis Yates

British Dictionary definitions for extension

extension

noun

the act of extending or the condition of being extended

something that can be extended or that extends another object

the length, range, etc, over which something is extended; extent

an additional telephone set connected to the same telephone line as another set or other sets

a room or rooms added to an existing building

a delay, esp one agreed by all parties, in the date originally set for payment of a debt or completion of a contract

the property of matter by which it occupies space; size

the act of straightening or extending an arm or leg
its position after being straightened or extended

med a steady pull applied to a fractured or dislocated arm or leg to restore it to its normal positionSee also traction (def. 3)

a service by which some of the facilities of an educational establishment, library, etc, are offered to outsiders
(as modifier)a university extension course

logic

the class of entities to which a given word correctly applies: thus, the extension of satellite of Mars is the set containing only Deimos and PhobosCompare intension (def. 1a)
conservative extensiona formal theory that includes among its theorems all the theorems of a given theory

Word Origin for extension

C14: from Late Latin extensiō a stretching out; see extend

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 extension

c.1400, from Old French extension (14c.) and directly from Latin extensionem/extentionem (nominative extensio/extentio), noun of action from past participle stem of extendere (see extend). In a concrete sense, "extended portion of something" (a railroad, etc.), from 1852. Telephone sense is from 1906.

extension in Medicine