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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Expand \Ex*pand"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Expanded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Expanding}.] [L. expandere, expansum; ex out + pandere to spread out, to throw open; perh. akin to E. patent. Cf. {Spawn}.]
1. To lay open by extending; to open wide; to spread out; to diffuse; as, a flower expands its leaves.
Then with expanded wings he steers his flight. --Milton.
2. 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.
3. (Math.) To state in enlarged form; to develop; as, to expand an equation. See {Expansion}, 5.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Expand \Ex*pand"\, verb (used without an object) 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. --Dryden.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
expand
verb
1: extend in one or more directions; "The dough expands" [syn: {spread out}] [ant: {shrink}]
2: become larger in size or volume or quantity; "his business expanded rapidly"
3: make bigger or wider in size, volume, or quantity; "expand the house by adding another wing"
4: grow stronger; "The economy was booming" [syn: {boom}, {prosper}, {thrive}, {get ahead}, {flourish}]
5: exaggerate or make bigger; "The charges were inflated" [syn: {inflate}, {blow up}, {amplify}]
6: add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; "She elaborated on the main ideas in her dissertation" [syn: {elaborate}, {lucubrate}, {expatiate}, {exposit}, {enlarge}, {flesh out}, {expound}, {dilate}] [ant: {abridge}]
7: expand the influence of; "The King extended his rule to the Eastern part of the continent" [syn: {extend}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
119 Moby Thesaurus words for "expand": add to, adulterate, aggrandize, amplify, attenuate, augment, balloon, beef up, bloat, blow up, bolster, boost, branch, branch out, broaden, build, build up, bulk, bulk out, complete, crescendo, cut, deal in generalities, deepen, deploy, descant, detail, develop, dilate, dilute, discourse, disperse, distend, ecumenicize, elaborate, embellish, enlarge, enlarge upon, enter into detail, etherealize, evolve, exalt, expatiate, explicate, extend, fan, fan out, fatten, fill out, flare, generalize, globalize, go into, greaten, grow, heighten, hike, hike up, huff, increase, inflate, jack up, jump up, labor, lengthen, magnify, make a generalization, maximize, mount, multiply, mushroom, open, open up, outspread, outstretch, overgrow, overrun, parlay, particularize, prolong, protract, puff, puff up, pump, pump up, put up, pyramid, raise, ramify, rarefy, rehearse in extenso, relate at large, snowball, spell out, splay, spraddle, sprangle, sprawl, spread, spread like wildfire, spread out, stretch, subtilize, sufflate, swell, thicken, thin, thin out, tumefy, unfold, universalize, up, upsurge, vise, water, water down, wax, widen, work out
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