expanse

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UK/ɪkˈspæns/UK/ɛkˈspæns/Canada, US[ɪkˈspɛəns]New Zealand/əkˈspɛns/

noun

A wide stretch, usually of sea, sky, or land.

Less commonScrabble 16

Meanings

nounexpanse (plural expanses)

plural expanses

  1. A wide stretch, usually of sea, sky, or land.

    That large room had always awed Ivor: even as a child he had never wanted to play in it, for all that it was so limitless, the parquet floor so vast and shiny and unencumbered, the windows so wide and light with the fairy expanse of Kensington Gardens.

    1922, Michael Arlen, “1/1/3”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days
  2. An amount of spread or stretch.

Synonyms & antonyms

nouna wide scope

Similar

nounthe extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary

Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinexpansum
  2. Englishexpanse

From Latin expansum, from expandō.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian шир, простор
  • шир (šir)A wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
  • простор (prostor)A wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
  • протежение (proteženie)An amount of spread or stretch
Catalan extensió
  • extensióA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Danish vidde
  • viddeA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Esperanto vastaĵo
  • vastaĵoA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Finnish aava, lakeus
  • aavaA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
  • lakeusA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
  • laajuusAn amount of spread or stretch
French étendue
  • étendueA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Greek απλωσιά
  • απλωσιά (aplosiá)A wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Hindi प्रसार
  • प्रसार (prasār)A wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Lithuanian platybės, tyrai
  • platybėsA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
  • tyraiA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Māori tahua, tāmoremore
  • tahuaA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
  • tāmoremoreA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Polish bezkres
  • bezkresA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Russian простор
  • простор (prostor)A wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Spanish extensión
  • extensiónA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky
Swedish vidd
  • viddA wide stretch, usually of sea, sky

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with expanse

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

expanse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expanse

MLA

“expanse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expanse. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “expanse,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/expanse.

Source: expanse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.