<< Back to dictionary

The Meaning of expand

  • (v. t.) To lay open by extending; to open wide; to spread out; to diffuse; as, a flower expands its leaves.
  • (v. t.) 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.
  • (v. t.) To state in enlarged form; to develop; as, to expand an equation. See Expansion, 5.
  • (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.

Synonyms

elaborate , unfold , expound , spread , exposit , flourish , spread out , amplify , dissipate , lucubrate , blow up , scatter , thrive , fan out , string out , extend , inflate , expatiate , splay , open , flesh out , dilate , disperse , rotate , boom , enlarge , turn out , diffuse , wave , fly high , blast , din , nail , brandish , thunder , prosper , boom out , smash , balloon , go ballistic , puff out , detonate , have kittens , flip one's wig , embroider , puff up , puff , hit the roof , explode , throw a fit , combust , flip one's lid , magnify , pad , embellish , lard , fly off the handle , set off , lose one's temper , overstate , billow , blow a fuse , hit the ceiling , exaggerate , aggrandise , have a fit , dramatise , aggrandize , overdraw , hyperbolize , hyperbolise , dramatize , blow one's stack , work out , refine , fat , fatten , fill out , rarify , set forth , fatten up , plump , fatten out , complicate , plump out , distend , round , gallop , widen , run , lead , continue , poke out , stretch out , draw out , offer , put out , carry , go , stretch , protract , stretch forth , pass , reach out , exsert , cover , prolong , strain , hold out , broaden , augment , develop , increase

Antonyms

summarize , boil down , curtail , epitomize , retrench , sum up , abridge , cut , shrink , amputate , condense , cut down , contract , abbreviate , shorten , reduce , foreshorten

Rhymes

ampersand , armband , backhand , band , bandstand , banned , beforehand , bland , bourland , brand , brande , broadband , canned , chand , command , contraband , cropland , deland , demand , disband , dixieland , dreamland , fairyland , fanned , farmhand , farmland , fatherland , ferdinand , fernand , finland , firebrand , firsthand , forehand , freehand , gland , goodland , grand , grande , grandstand , grassland , greenland , hand , handstand , headband , heartland , hildebrand , hinterland , homeland , inland , laband , land , lande , lapland , lefthand , longhand , lowland , mainland , mande , manned , marchand , marshland , meadowland , midland , misunderstand , moorland , motherland , newsstand , nightstand , northland , nuland , offhand , outmanned , overland , panned , parkland , planned , queensland , quicksand , rand , remand , reprimand , rhineland , samarkand , sand , secondhand , shadowland , shand , shorthand , somaliland , southland , spanned , stagehand , stand , strand , strande , streisand , tanned , thailand , timberland , undermanned , understand , unmanned , unplanned , vande , wasteland , wetland , withstand , wonderland , woodland