{
    "term": "expansion",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "academic": true,
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "b2",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "an act of increasing or making something increase in size, amount or importance",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "a period of rapid economic expansion"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Despite the recession the company is confident of further expansion."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The expansion of higher education will continue."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The book is an expansion of a series of lectures given last year."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He opposed expansion of the army and navy."
                },
                {
                    "text": "In order to finance expansion on this scale, the government has relied heavily on borrowing."
                },
                {
                    "text": "She proposed a modest expansion of unemployment benefits."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The board decided to embark on aggressive overseas expansion."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The company believes there is scope for expansion in this sector."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The economy is still showing healthy expansion."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The museum is undergoing a major expansion."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The rate of expansion of our overseas trade has been spectacular."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a great age of expansion in trade and science"
                },
                {
                    "text": "an $80 million expansion of its Madras factory"
                },
                {
                    "text": "expansion into the luxury car market"
                },
                {
                    "text": "the largest prison expansion in American history"
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Change, cause and effect"],
            "collocations": {
                "adjective": ["big", "considerable", "enormous"],
                "verb + expansion": ["show", "experience", "undergo"],
                "expansion + verb": ["occur", "take place"],
                "expansion + noun": ["plan", "programme/​program"],
                "preposition": ["expansion into", "expansion in", "expansion to"],
                "phrases": [
                    "a period of expansion",
                    "the rate of expansion",
                    "potential, room, scope, etc. for expansion"
                ]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪkˈspænʃn/",
                "audio": "ex/expansion/expansion__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪkˈspænʃn/",
                "audio": "ex/expansion/expansion__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "early 17th cent.: from late Latin expansio(n-), from Latin expandere ‘to spread out’, from ex- ‘out’ + pandere ‘to spread’."
}