Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who or that which expands; especially, a tool or machine used to expand something; specifically, in plumbing, a tool used to spread lead-packing into the inner flange-recesses of pipe-connections.
  • noun A tool used to secure a tube in a plate or sheet so that the joint shall be steam- or water-tight under pressure.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun Anything which causes expansion esp. (Mech.) a tool for stretching open or expanding a tube, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Agent noun of expand; someone or something that expands.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

expand + -er

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word expander.

Examples

  • I am a medical transcriptionist, and I use a word expander which will produce something like "the patient is here for a followup" if I type "tpihfaf."

    AutoHotkey Community 2010

  • The automated acronym expander ( "The Bile Machine") generates random, insulting things that any 2-7 letter word can stand for.

    Boing Boing: November 11, 2001 - November 17, 2001 Archives 2001

  • Two years ago I wrote a gist about a new design NASA was testing there—something called an expander cycle engine.

    Deception Point Dan Brown 2001

  • For higher-power-output applications (greater than 100 kw), the expander will be a turbine.

    Chapter 15 1982

  • Your dentist will likely need to place a crossbite "expander" for a few months to correct that.--very common orthodontic correction.

    Pacifiers Dr. Dean Brandon 2006

  • We furnish a ten cable chest expander which is adjustable to give resistance up to 200 lbs.

    Astounding Stories of Super-Science February 1930 Various

  • First there is the "expander", which removes extraneous mouth noises; next up is the

    IOL Technology 2010

  • In other areas, I created my own kind of expander that has the look of a tree view item and adds additional paragraphs below itself.

    MSDN Blogs 2009

  • Firefighters were able to use a hydraulic pressure expander to force the bars apart and pull him back into his apartment.

    Six-Year Old Chinese Boy Saved From Plunging to His Death by His Ears | Impact Lab 2010

  • The only problem that definably causes a situation of bullet movement is carbon build up on the expander ball during decaping and resizing thus inlarging the internal neck size.

    How Many Groups is Enough? 2009

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