extension

American  

[ik-sten-shuhn] / ɪkˈstɛn ʃən /

noun

• extensions
  plural

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

   Synonyms:

   dilation, increase, enlargement, expansion

   Antonyms:

   contraction

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

3. that by which something is extended or enlarged; an addition.

   a four-room extension to a house.

   Synonyms:

   continuation, protraction

4. an additional period of time given one to meet an obligation.

   My term paper wasn't finished so I asked for an extension.

   Synonyms:

   delay

5. something that is expandable or can be extended; an extended object.

   a table with drop-leaf extensions.

6. range or scope of extending; degree of extensiveness; extent.

   the extension of our knowledge.

   Synonyms:

   limit

7. an additional telephone that operates on the principal line.

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

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

10. Anatomy.

    1. the act of straightening a limb.

    2. the position that a limb assumes when it is straightened.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

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

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adjective

1. of or relating to extension courses.

extension British  

/ ɪkˈstɛnʃən /

noun

1. the act of extending or the condition of being extended

2. something that can be extended or that extends another object

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

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

5. a room or rooms added to an existing building

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

7. the property of matter by which it occupies space; size

8. 1. the act of straightening or extending an arm or leg

   2. its position after being straightened or extended

9. med a steady pull applied to a fractured or dislocated arm or leg to restore it to its normal position See also traction

10. 1. a service by which some of the facilities of an educational establishment, library, etc, are offered to outsiders

    2. ( as modifier )

       a university extension course

11. logic

    1. 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 Phobos Compare intension

    2. a formal theory that includes among its theorems all the theorems of a given theory

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extension Scientific  

/ ĭk-stĕn′shən /

1. Mathematics A set that includes a given and similar set as a subset.

2. Computer Science A set of characters that follow a filename and are separated from it by a period, used to identify the kind of file.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• extensionalism
  noun
• extensionality
  noun
• nonextension
  noun
• superextension
  noun
• extensional
  adjective
• extensionless
  adjective
• nonextensional
  adjective
• proextension
  adjective
• extensionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• extensions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of extension

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

Explanation

An extension is the act of getting more time, space, or length, like an extension of a deadline that gives you one more day to turn in a paper, or extensions that make your hair look longer. The noun extension comes from the Latin word extendere, meaning “stretch out.” If you’re a great gymnast, you probably have amazing extension — flexible and long-reaching limbs. If someone meets your sister and assumes you will be exactly like her, you might say, "That's a stretch," meaning this person has, by extension, drawn conclusions about you which are somewhat true but not completely accurate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

extension extensions

The glasses are designed to work as an extension of your phone.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

The latest 24-month extension was due to end on 22 February 2027.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

The truce between the world’s two biggest economies doesn’t expire until Nov. 10 so there probably won’t be an extension announced this week, said U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

For example, that includes giving them an extension on existing projects to make sure they have the bandwidth to focus on learning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

With little discussion, the council did the expected and granted Greenberg his sixty-day extension.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

The settlement would commit the agency to funding the grants through their remaining terms, including eligible extensions, as long as recipients meet their grant requirements.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Working with mouse neurons, they found evidence that a familiar picture of brain cell anatomy may overlook an important feature of the cells' signal-carrying extensions.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026

There, the stress of the combat operations, repeated deployment extensions and uncertainty about when they would return home all contributed to deteriorating standards, discipline and group norms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Chinese journalists would get just 90 days, with extensions of 90 days.

From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026

“The exact amount of human variability,” he wrote, could be explained by rather obvious extensions of Mendelian genetics.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• delay
• development
• expansion
• increase
• postponement