expanse
noun
ex·panse
ik-ˈspan(t)s 
1
2
: great extent of something spread out
an expanse of calm ocean
Examples of expanse in a Sentence
The explorer gazed across the vast Arctic expanse.
the great explorers who crossed the vast expanses of the seven seas in small ships
Recent Examples on the Web
Large expanses of seats were unused during the third-bottom home side’s 2-1 defeat to Forest, who are in 17th place, on Tuesday.
—
Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Trudging across six lanes of highway, and expanses of parking lot, to reach Soldier Field never had many fans, but there is zero romance in this new spot.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
This stretch of the Great Hungarian Plain was once the nation’s breadbasket, a lush expanse of silt and soil regularly replenished by the flooding of the Danube and Tisza rivers.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Dec. 2025
One was the mighty Virgo Cluster, whose member galaxies had never been seen so clearly across such a wide expanse of space, and with 10 million faint galaxies in the background to boot.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expanse
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Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
Trudging across six lanes of highway, and expanses of parking lot, to reach Soldier Field never had many fans, but there is zero romance in this new spot.
—Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 1 Jan. 2026
This stretch of the Great Hungarian Plain was once the nation’s breadbasket, a lush expanse of silt and soil regularly replenished by the flooding of the Danube and Tisza rivers.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 30 Dec. 2025
One was the mighty Virgo Cluster, whose member galaxies had never been seen so clearly across such a wide expanse of space, and with 10 million faint galaxies in the background to boot.
—Keith Cooper, Space.com, 28 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expanse
Cite this Entry
“Expanse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expanse. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
expanse
noun
ex·panse
ik-ˈspan(t)s
: a wide space, area, or stretch
the vast expanse of the ocean
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