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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EXPAND', v.t. [L. expando; es and pando, to open or spread; Eng. span. The primary sense is to strain or stretch, and this seems to be the sense of bend, L. pandus.]
1. To open; to spread; as, a flower expands its leaves.
2. To spread; to enlarge a surface; to diffuse; as, a stream expands its waters over a plain.
3. To dilate; to enlarge in bulk; to distend; as, to expand the chest by inspiration; heat expands all bodies; air is expanded by rarefaction.
4. To enlarge; to extend; as, to expand the sphere of benevolence; to expand the heart or affections.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

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

Merriam Webster's

verb Etymology: Middle English expaunden, from Latin expandere, from ex- + pandere to spread — more at fathom Date: 15th century transitive verb 1. to open up ; unfold 2. to increase the extent, number, volume, or scope of ; enlarge 3. a. to express at length or in greater detail b. to write out in full <expand all abbreviations> c. to subject to mathematical expansion <expand a function in a power series> intransitive verb 1. to open out ; spread 2. to increase in extent, number, volume, or scope 3. to speak or write fully or in detail <expanded on the theme> 4. to feel generous or optimistic • expandability noun • expandable adjective Synonyms: expand, amplify, swell, distend, inflate, dilate mean to increase in size or volume. expand may apply whether the increase comes from within or without and regardless of manner (as growth, unfolding, addition of parts) <a business that expands every year>. amplify implies the extension or enlargement of something inadequate <amplify the statement with details>. swell implies gradual expansion beyond a thing's original or normal limits <the bureaucracy swelled to unmanageable proportions> . distend implies outward extension caused by pressure from within <a distended abdomen>. inflate implies expanding by introduction of air or something insubstantial and suggests a resulting vulnerability and liability to sudden collapse <an inflated ego>. dilate applies especially to expansion of circumference <dilated pupils>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. & intr. increase in size or bulk or importance. 2 intr. (often foll. by on) give a fuller description or account. 3 intr. become more genial or effusive; discard one's reserve. 4 tr. set or write out in full (something condensed or abbreviated). 5 tr. & intr. spread out flat. Phrases and idioms: expanded metal sheet metal slit and stretched into a mesh, used to reinforce concrete and other brittle materials. Derivatives: expandable adj. expander n. expansible adj. expansibility n. Etymology: ME f. L expandere expans- spread out (as EX-(1), pandere spread)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Expand Ex*pand", v. i. 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's 1913 Dictionary

Expand Ex*pand", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Expanded; p. pr. & vb. n. Expanding.] [L. expandere, expansum; ex out + pandere to spread out, to throw open; perh. akin to E. patent. Cf. Spawn.] 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(expands, expanding, expanded) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. If something expands or is expanded, it becomes larger. Engineers noticed that the pipes were not expanding as expected... We have to expand the size of the image. ...a rapidly expanding universe. ...strips of expanded polystyrene. VERB: V, V n, V-ing, V-ed 2. If something such as a business, organization, or service expands, or if you expand it, it becomes bigger and includes more people, goods, or activities. (BUSINESS) The popular ceramics industry expanded towards the middle of the 19th century... Health officials are proposing to expand their services by organising counselling. VERB: V, V n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Spread, open, unfold, evolve, lay open, spread out. 2. Dilate, distend, swell, fill out, blow up. 3. Extend, stretch, enlarge, increase, diffuse. II. v. n. 1. Open, be unfolded, be spread out. 2. Dilate, enlarge, be distended, increase in bulk.

Moby Thesaurus

add to, adulterate, aggrandize, amplify, attenuate, augment, balloon, beef up, bloat, blow up, bolster, boost, branch, branch out, broaden, build, build up, bulk, bulk out, complete, crescendo, cut, deal in generalities, deepen, deploy, descant, detail, develop, dilate, dilute, discourse, disperse, distend, ecumenicize, elaborate, embellish, enlarge, enlarge upon, enter into detail, etherealize, evolve, exalt, expatiate, explicate, extend, fan, fan out, fatten, fill out, flare, generalize, globalize, go into, greaten, grow, heighten, hike, hike up, huff, increase, inflate, jack up, jump up, labor, lengthen, magnify, make a generalization, maximize, mount, multiply, mushroom, open, open up, outspread, outstretch, overgrow, overrun, parlay, particularize, prolong, protract, puff, puff up, pump, pump up, put up, pyramid, raise, ramify, rarefy, rehearse in extenso, relate at large, snowball, spell out, splay, spraddle, sprangle, sprawl, spread, spread like wildfire, spread out, stretch, subtilize, sufflate, swell, thicken, thin, thin out, tumefy, unfold, universalize, up, upsurge, vise, water, water down, wax, widen, work out