extensive
Americanadjective
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an extensive area.
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covering or extending over a great area.
extensive travels.
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far-reaching; comprehensive; thorough.
extensive knowledge.
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an extensive journey.
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great in amount, number, or degree.
an extensive fortune; extensive political influence.
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of or having extension.
Space is extensive, time durational.
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noting or pertaining to a system of agriculture involving the use or cultivation of large areas of land with a minimum of labor and expense (opposed to intensive).
adjective
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having a large extent, area, scope, degree, etc; vast
extensive deserts
an extensive inheritance
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widespread
extensive coverage in the press
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agriculture involving or farmed with minimum expenditure of capital or labour, esp depending on a large area of land Compare intensive
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physics of or relating to a property, measurement, etc, of a macroscopic system that is proportional to the size of the system Compare intensive
heat is an extensive property
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logic
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of or relating to logical extension
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(of a definition) in terms of the objects to which the term applies rather than its meaning
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Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of extensive
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Late Latin extēnsīvus, equivalent to Latin extēns(us) (past participle of extendere “to stretch out”) + -īvus adjective suffix; see extend, -ive
Explanation
When something is far-reaching or expansive it is extensive. When your friend knows every single place and time that his favorite band has played any given song, he has extensive knowledge of that band. Use the adjective extensive for something that goes on and on and on. It works for anything that covers a lot of territory either in physical space, as in "the gardens at the palace are extensive," or conceptually, as in "her knowledge of the mortgage-backed securities market is extensive." If you are a farmer, you would also use extensive to mean that you are able to work a lot of land without too much effort or manual labor.
Vocabulary lists containing extensive
Hatchet
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List 8
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A Christmas Carol
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In August, the museum’s summer concert series will return, highlighted by “Yoko Only”; a night celebrating Ono’s extensive music catalog.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
After extensive preparation, only a few hundred milligrams of dust remained.
From Science Daily • May 14, 2026
Several resorts offer diverse golf options and extensive nongolf activities, catering to families with varying interests and skill levels.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
But recent state elections suggest that extensive welfare delivery alone is no longer enough to secure incumbency.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
Similarly, Native American farmers of the North American Great Plains grew crops in the river valleys, but farming of the tough sods on the extensive uplands had to await 19th-century Europeans and their animal-drawn plows.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
