expand Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb extend in one or more directions
    spread out.
    • The dough expands
  2. verb become larger in size or volume or quantity
    • his business expanded rapidly
  3. verb make bigger or wider in size, volume, or quantity
    • expand the house by adding another wing
  4. verb grow vigorously
    flourish; boom; thrive.
    • The deer population in this town is thriving
    • business is booming
  5. verb exaggerate or make bigger
    inflate; blow up; amplify.
    • The charges were inflated
  6. verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing
    expound; lucubrate; dilate; expatiate; elaborate; enlarge; exposit; flesh out.
    • She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation
  7. verb expand the influence of
    extend.
    • The King extended his rule to the Eastern part of the continent

WordNet

Ex*pand" transitive verb
Etymology
L. expandere, expansum; ex out + pandere to spread out, to throw open; perh. akin to E. patent. Cf. Spawn.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Expanded; present participle & verbal noun Expanding
Definitions
  1. To lay open by extending; to open wide; to spread out; to diffuse; as, a flower expands its leaves.
    Then with expanded wings he steers his flight. Milton.
  2. To cause the particles or parts of to spread themselves or stand apart, thus increasing bulk without addition of substance; to make to occupy more space; to dilate; to distend; to extend every way; to enlarge; -- opposed to contract; as, to expand the chest; heat expands all bodies; to expand the sphere of benevolence.
  3. (Math.) To state in enlarged form; to develop; as, to expand an equation. See Expansion, 5.
Ex*pand" intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To become widely opened, spread apart, dilated, distended, or enlarged; as, flowers expand in the spring; metals expand by heat; the heart expands with joy. Dryden.

Webster 1913