as in expansion
a wide space or area
the great explorers who crossed the vast expanses of the seven seas in small ships
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expanse
Senior Alice Amorim reflected on the expanse of her time away — about a quarter of her high school career.
—
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Two younger craters have since formed within Cassini's expanse, the basins of which are drenched in darkness around the time of the first quarter moon, making for a visually spectacular telescopic target.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Much of the production is supremely pleasant to listen to, but just as hazy and confused as the plot, splitting between spacey expanses of synth and dramatic eruptions.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
And there’s fabulous hiking and skiing on offer in the national park, a huge expanse of tundra and boulder fields laced with silver rivers over which sea eagles can often be seen, swooping low.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for expanse
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, 27 Jan. 2026
Two younger craters have since formed within Cassini's expanse, the basins of which are drenched in darkness around the time of the first quarter moon, making for a visually spectacular telescopic target.
—Anthony Wood, Space.com, 25 Jan. 2026
Much of the production is supremely pleasant to listen to, but just as hazy and confused as the plot, splitting between spacey expanses of synth and dramatic eruptions.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 22 Jan. 2026
And there’s fabulous hiking and skiing on offer in the national park, a huge expanse of tundra and boulder fields laced with silver rivers over which sea eagles can often be seen, swooping low.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 22 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for expanse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expanse
Noun
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Howard, who had served as a second lieutenant with the Ninety‑Second Division, 366th Infantry in France during World War I, accused President Truman of using the Cold War to justify a sweeping peacetime expansion of America’s global military footprint.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
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India is positioning itself as the testbed where energy infrastructure meets AI expansion.—
Güney Yıldız,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Woll is having one of the worst stretches of his career.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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Brown and Pritchard accounted for nearly all of their team’s scoring over the final eight-plus minutes of the third, providing 12 of its 14 points during that stretch.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Though only 2% of the river’s length flows through the capital, Delhi contributes about 76% of its total pollution, according to a government monitoring committee.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
1 Feb. 2026
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And all throughout the dance, nerves attached to your muscles tell your brain the length of your muscles and how that length changes.—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano,
Mercury News,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expanse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expanse. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
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