expansion

ex|pan|sion [ ık`spænʃən ] noun **

1. ) uncount the process of increasing in size and filling more space:

damage caused to buildings through the expansion and contraction of timbers

2. ) uncount the process of making a business, organization, or activity grow by including more people, moving into new areas, selling more products, etc.:

The company has looked at a number of ways of financing its expansion.

the rapid expansion of private nursing-home care over the last decade

We plan to continue our expansion program.

3. ) count something that has more detail or information than something done before:

His latest work is an expansion of themes foreshadowed in his earlier plays.

4. ) count or uncount TECHNICAL in mathematics, an EXPRESSION written in a longer form