Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A wide and open extent, as of surface, land, or sky.
- n. Expansion.
- n. The distance or amount of expansion.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Expanded; spread out.
- Separate; single: said especially of years in old planetary tables.
- n. Spatial or superficial extension; an uninterrupted stretch or area, especially one of considerable extent.
- n. Specifically In zoology, the extent or stretch of wing; the distance from tip to tip when the wings, as of an insect or a bird, are fully expanded. Also called alar expanse or extent.
- n. Enlargement; extension; expansion.
- n. Synonyms See extent.
- To expand; stretch out.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. That which is expanded or spread out; a wide extent of space or body; especially, the arch of the sky.
- v. To expand.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary
- n. a wide scope
- n. a wide and open space or area as of surface or land or sky
Etymologies
- Latin expānsum, from neuter past participle of expandere, to spread out; see expand.
Examples
“Conveying the same feel and cloaked in a white expanse is this beautiful abode with chic interiors for those craving for serenity.”
London House Blends Contemporary and Classic in a Very Charismatic Way
“It's like an awesome machine, so powerful yet limited in expanse -- a map revealing portals, requiring off-road after entry.”
“The Hebrew term expanse can be used for "something beaten out or spread out like a covering".”
“The Olympic Park Legacy Company, charged last year with overseeing the transformation of the area in east London, revealed today that the 500-acre expanse, which is currently a giant construction site, would be called the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park when it reopens in 2013 after the games.”
The Guardian: London 2012: Boris Johnson unveils housing plan for Olympic park
“Only in the furthest corner of the expanse was the light of a solitary street lamp bearing a resemblance to the disk of a stationary, resplendent dandelion.”
“Only in the furthest corner of the expanse was the light of”
“expanse" -- is situated in the Seistan Desert on the Great Iranic plateau, and consequently at an elevation of (probably) 3000 feet.”
“Later he speaks of the "expanse" as a place where the lights were set, and he describes the sky where there are birds.”
“001: 023 Under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward the other: each one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side, their bodies.”
“The line of vision from the flight deck towards the horizon (if there is one) will actually portray a white even expanse which is uniformly level.”
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