extent

noun

ex·​tent ik-ˈstent 

1

a

: the range over which something extends : scope

the extent of her jurisdiction

b

: the amount of space or surface that something occupies or the distance over which it extends : magnitude

the extent of the forest

c

: the point, degree, or limit to which something extends

using talents to the greatest extent

2

a

: seizure (as of land) in execution of a writ of extent in Great Britain

also : the condition of being so seized

b

: a writ giving to the creditor temporary possession of the debtor's property

3

archaic : valuation (as of land) in Great Britain especially for taxation

Synonyms of extent

• limit
• limitation
• confines
• boundary

Examples of extent in a Sentence

She tried to determine the extent of the damage.

the full extent of human knowledge

He questions the extent to which these remedies are needed.

Recent Examples on the Web

While the Fed is in control of the short-term interest rate—which can influence mortgages in the longer run to some extent—the market is demonstrating that lenders have rarely cared less about what the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is doing. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2025

In the rush to distance themselves from Fuentes, MAGA conservatives can easily downplay the extent to which Fuentes’s racist, trollish ideology has already embedded itself in the movement. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 15 Nov. 2025

The retail giant presented him as a kind of link to a future that is defined to a much greater extent by artificial intelligence, which is remaking both how companies work and how consumers shop. —Evan Clark, Footwear News, 14 Nov. 2025

Called the Willow Palisade, this was a seven-hundred-kilometer-long double wall, planted in northeast China in the middle of the seventeenth century by the Qing dynasty to demarcate the southern extent of their homeland. —Literary Hub, 14 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French estente, extente land valuation, from extendre, estendre to survey, evaluate, literally, to extend

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing extent

• to a certain extent
• to a greater/lesser degree/extent
• to a greater or lesser degree/extent
• to a great extent
• to such an extent
• to the fullest extent of
• to what extent
• writ of extent

Rhymes for extent

• accent
• advent
• ascent
• assent
• augment
• cement
• consent
• dement
• descent
• detent
• dissent
• event

Kids Definition

extent

noun

ex·​tent ik-ˈstent 

1

: the range, distance, or space over or through which something extends

the extent of the Roman empire

2

: the point, degree, or limit to which something extends

the extent of her knowledge