expansion

 
Pronunciation: /ɪkˈspanʃ(ə)n, ɛk-/

noun

[mass noun]
  • the action of becoming larger or more extensive: the rapid expansion of suburban London [count noun]: a small expansion of industry
  • the political strategy of extending a state’s territory by encroaching on that of other nations: German expansion in the 1930s
  • [count noun] a thing formed by the enlargement or broadening of something: the book is an expansion of a lecture given last year
  • the increase in the volume of fuel on combustion in the cylinder of an engine, or the piston stroke in which this occurs.

Origin:

early 17th century: from late Latin expansio(n-), from Latin expandere (see expand)