extent
Americannoun
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extents
plural
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the space or degree to which a thing extends; length, area, volume, or scope.
the extent of his lands; to be right to a certain extent.
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something extended, as a space; a particular length, area, or volume; something having extension.
the limitless extent of the skies.
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U.S. Law. a writ, or a levy, by which a debtor's lands are valued and transferred to the creditor, absolutely or for a term of years.
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English Law.
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Also called writ of extent. a writ to recover debts of a record due to the crown, under which land, property, etc., may be seized.
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a seizure made under such a writ.
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Logic. extension.
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Archaic. assessment or valuation, as of land.
noun
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the range over which something extends; scope
the extent of the damage
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an area or volume
a vast extent of concrete
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law a writ authorizing a person to whom a debt is due to assume temporary possession of his debtor's lands
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logic another word for extension
Usage
What is extent? Extent is the length, area, volume, or scope something reaches to, as in The extent of Sheree’s knowledge of science fiction was very deep. Extent is a very common term that can refer to measurements, concepts, ideals, plans, and many other fields that measure anything, literal or figurative. Extent can also refer to something that has a lengthening, stretching out, or enlarging scope, especially when the boundaries aren’t known. You might hear someone talk about the limitless extent of space, for example. The phrase the extent of means that something has reached the extreme or the border of how far it can go, as in I can raise your allowance by $5, but that’s the extent of what I can do. Example: We know that the pan can get hot, but we are unsure to what extent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of extent
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English extente “assessment,” from Medieval Latin extenta, noun use of feminine of Latin extentus “stretched out,” past participle of extendere “to stretch out”; see extend
Explanation
The extent is the area something covers. That could be physical space or something like being prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Use the word extent when you are discussing how far something extends — how far it reaches. If you're an expert, the extent of your knowledge is wide. If you own a lot of property, the extent of your land is huge. The full extent of something is like the limit — that's the end of it. If you've reached the extent of your patience, you're out of patience. If an earthquake destroyed your house, the extent of the damage was severe.
Vocabulary lists containing extent
Commonly Confused Words, List 5
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James Monroe's First Inaugural Address (1817)
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Words from the First 2020 Presidential Debate
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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.
See Examples For:
"We could be entering a self-enforcing feedback loop: the weaker the sea ice becomes, the more cyclone clusters can reduce its extent, which in turn weakens the sea ice," says Lars Aue.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
On the other hand, net commodity exporters such as Malaysia, and to a lesser extent, Indonesia, could see some offset on its currencies against the oil shock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Officials have not yet ascertained the full geographical extent of the latest outbreak, with surveillance and laboratory investigations ongoing.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
But to the extent Kim responds to other leaders’ signals, Trump’s comment may move him to accelerate the expansion of Pyongyang’s arsenal.
From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026
To that extent, we can all fancy ourselves potential artists—mute, inglorious Miltons.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
All three regions subsidize EV purchases to varying extents.
From Barron's ● Dec. 3, 2025
Since then, Antarctica has shown a series of very low sea-ice extents, although there is still lots of natural variability.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2025
"Some species, like the elegant madtom, had high relative sensitivity across spatial extents yet had no state or federal conservation listings," Silknetter said.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2024
Their geographic extents and how long they lasted were similar.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 13, 2023
We have, then, the symmetry of equally divided extents and of unequally divided extents.
From Harvard Psychological Studies, Volume 1 Containing Sixteen Experimental Investigations from the Harvard Psychological Laboratory. by Hugo Münsterberg
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.
