Expansion

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Expansion \Ex*pan"sion\, n. [L. expansio: cf. F. expansion.]
     1. The act of expanding or spreading out; the condition of
        being expanded; dilation; enlargement.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. That which is expanded; expanse; extend surface; as, the


        expansion of a sheet or of a lake; the expansion was
        formed of metal.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The starred expansion of the skies.   --Beattie.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Space through which anything is expanded; also, pure
        space.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Lost in expansion, void and infinite. --Blackmore.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Economics & Commmerce) an increase in the production of
        goods and services over time, and in the volume of
        business transactions, generally associated with an
        increase in employment and an increase in the money
        supply. Opposite of {contraction}.
  
     Syn: economic expansion. [1913 Webster +PJC]
  
     5. (Math.) The developed result of an indicated operation;
        as, the expansion of (a + b)^{2} is a^{2} + 2ab + b^{2}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. (Steam Engine) The operation of steam in a cylinder after
        its communication with the boiler has been cut off, by
        which it continues to exert pressure upon the moving
        piston.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. (Nav. Arch.) The enlargement of the ship mathematically
        from a model or drawing to the full or building size, in
        the process of construction. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Expansion is also used adjectively, as in expansion
           joint, expansion gear, etc.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     8. an enlarged or extended version of something, such as a
        writing or discourse; as, the journal article is an
        expansion of the lecture she gave.
        [PJC]
  
     9. an {expansion joint}. See below. [Colloq. or jargon]
        [PJC]
  
     {Expansion curve}, a curve the co["o]rdinates of which show
        the relation between the pressure and volume of expanding
        gas or vapor; esp. (Steam engine), that part of an
        indicator diagram which shows the declining pressure of
        the steam as it expands in the cylinder.
  
     {Expansion gear} (Steam Engine). a cut-off gear. See Illust.
        of {Link motion}.
  
     {Automatic expansion gear} or {Automatic cut-off}, one that
        is regulated by the governor, and varies the supply of
        steam to the engine with the demand for power.
  
     {Fixed expansion gear}, or {Fixed cut-off}, one that always
        operates at the same fixed point of the stroke.
  
     {Expansion joint}, or {Expansion coupling} (Mech. & Engin.),
        a yielding joint or coupling for so uniting parts of a
        machine or structure that expansion, as by heat, is
        prevented from causing injurious strains; as:
        (a) A slide or set of rollers, at the end of bridge truss,
            to support it but allow end play.
        (b) A telescopic joint in a steam pipe, to permit one part
            of the pipe to slide within the other.
        (c) A clamp for holding a locomotive frame to the boiler
            while allowing lengthwise motion.
        (d) a strip of compressible material placed at intervals
            between blocks of poured concrete, as in roads or
            sidewalks.
  
     {Expansion valve} (Steam Engine), a cut-off valve, to shut
        off steam from the cylinder before the end of each stroke.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  expansion
       n 1: the act of increasing (something) in size or volume or
            quantity or scope [syn: {enlargement}] [ant: {contraction}]
       2: a discussion that provides additional information [syn: {enlargement},
           {elaboration}]
       3: adding information or detail [syn: {expanding upon}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  222 Moby Thesaurus words for "expansion":
     access, accession, accomplishment, accretion, accrual, accruement,
     accumulation, acreage, addition, advance, advancement,
     aggrandizement, amplification, amplitude, appreciation, area,
     ascent, attenuation, augmentation, ballooning, ballyhoo, big talk,
     bigness, bloating, blossoming, blowing up, body, boom, boost,
     bottoming out, breadth, broadcast, broadcasting, broadening,
     buildup, bulk, burgeoning, burlesque, business cycle,
     business fluctuations, bust, caliber, caricature, circumfusion,
     continuum, cooling off, coverage, crescendo, crisis, depression,
     depth, development, developmental change, diameter, diffraction,
     diffusion, dilatation, dilation, dilution, dimension, dimensions,
     dispensation, dispersal, dispersion, dissemination, dissipation,
     distance, distension, distention, distribution, divergence,
     downturn, economic cycle, economic expansion, economic growth,
     edema, elaboration, elevation, emptiness, empty space, enhancement,
     enlargement, evaporation, evolution, evolutionary change,
     evolvement, evolving, exaggerating, exaggeration, excess,
     exorbitance, expanding economy, expanse, expatiation, explication,
     extension, extent, extravagance, extreme, field, flood,
     flourishing, flowering, fragmentation, furtherance, gain,
     galactic space, gauge, girth, gradual change, grandiloquence,
     greatening, greatness, growth, gush, height, heightening,
     high growth rate, hike, huckstering, hyperbole, hyperbolism,
     increase, increment, infinite space, inflation, inordinacy,
     interstellar space, jump, largeness, leap, length, low,
     magnification, magnitude, market expansion, mass, maturation,
     measure, measurement, mounting, multiplication,
     natural development, natural growth, nonviolent change,
     nothingness, outer space, overemphasis, overestimation, overkill,
     overstatement, peak, peaking, peppering, prodigality,
     productiveness, profuseness, progress, progression, proliferation,
     propagation, proportion, proportions, prosperity, publication,
     puffery, puffing up, radiation, radius, raise, range, reach,
     recession, recovery, ripening, rise, scale, scattering,
     scatterment, scope, sensationalism, shotgun pattern, size,
     slowdown, slump, snowballing, sowing, space, spatial extension,
     spattering, sphere, splay, spread, spreading, sprinkling, stretch,
     stretching, strewing, superficial extension, superlative, surface,
     surge, swelling, tall talk, touting, tract, travesty, tumescence,
     unfolding, up, upping, upsurge, upswing, uptrend, upturn, void,
     volatilization, volume, waxing, widening, width, working-out