EXPANDING Synonyms: 123 Similar and Opposite Words

expanding

verb

present participle of expand

as in developing

to express more fully and in greater detail an article on the First Ladies that the author later expanded into a book

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Relevance

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as in increasing

to make greater in size, amount, or number we had to expand the list of wedding guests several times in order to accommodate all the relatives Mother wouldn't dream of excluding

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in extending

to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area a spare leaf for those times when we have to expand the dining table to accommodate extra guests

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in rising

to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number water expands when it becomes frozen

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of expanding Summary Hugging Face's latest report highlights a rapidly expanding community distribution layer for open models, converting raw weights into runnable formats like GGUF. — Janakiram Msv, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Arkansas Baptist College, a private, historically Black college located several blocks east of Little Rock's Central High School, is expanding its student housing with the acquisition of a La Quinta Inn in downtown Little Rock. — Dale Ellis, Arkansas Online, 18 Aug. 2026 Proceeds from the weekendlong event help the conservancy continue expanding its programs and investments throughout Grant Park. — Olivia Wakim, AJC.com, 18 Aug. 2026 Ukraine has been significantly expanding its long-range strikes deep into Russia in recent months, with prime targets including urban centers, fuel processing facilities, logistics hubs and military sites. — David Brennan, ABC News, 18 Aug. 2026 To pull this off, Uber is working with the drone delivery provider Zipline, a company in South San Francisco that first focused on the African market before expanding in the US to deliver food and Walmart orders in select areas. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 17 Aug. 2026 Griffin has also been expanding his real estate holdings and philanthropic footprint in South Florida, including plans for a major new headquarters in Brickell. — Luisa Yanez august 17, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2026 WhatNot and other live shopping retailers are shedding their reputations as purveyors of baseball cards by expanding their digital aisles, benefitting niche auction-fluencers like Lally. — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 17 Aug. 2026 Entertainment juggernaut Live Nation is expanding its San Diego footprint with the purchase and planned conversion of San Diego’s 102-year-old Wonder Bread Building into a 4,000-person music venue. — Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for expanding

Verb

The team has appeared comfortable all offseason — after re-signing Singleton and Strnad in free agency and releasing fellow veteran Dre Greenlaw — relying on this young, developing cast to fill the depth positions.

— Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 18 Aug. 2026
Washington has been developing new wildfire safety regulations for several years, including building codes for homes constructed in risky areas and rules for managing plants and vegetation.

— Lauren Sommer, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of developing

Verb

While increasing volumes of the oil are finding routes out of the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed, keeping energy prices elevated and pushing up global inflation.

— Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2026
Alternatively, perhaps Arsenal’s actions are driven by an increasing pressure to sell.

— James McNicholas, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of increasing

Verb

And given that, and the high state and municipal taxes many households and businesses face, Fazio added, Connecticut should tighten retirement benefits again before extending them next summer.

— Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026
And Mendoza took another big hit on the final play of his third drive while extending out of the pocket.

— Sam Warren, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of extending

Verb

During totality, the temperature could briefly fall by 18 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) before rising rapidly again once the sun reappears.

— Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
Images shared by Russian media outlets from the town of Podolsk showed columns of black smoke rising from the site.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of rising

Verb

About one minute after takeoff, the Learjet 55 turned to the left and started a violent dive, descending at nearly 10,000 feet per minute while accelerating to more than 275 MPH, according to information collected by investigators.

— Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 18 Aug. 2026
Adoption is accelerating as the proverbial wheels are falling off the bus.

— Jason Sabin, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of accelerating

Verb

Brighton face Norwegian outfit Tromso in the play-off round over two legs either side of Sunday’s opening Premier League fixture at home to Aston Villa.

— Andy Naylor, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
And since management changed a decade ago, Ortega, 59, said pungent smells on days the plant operates have prevented him from going outside or opening the windows.

— Finnegan Belleau, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of opening

Verb

In nearby Anderson in Madison County, Indiana, the mayor declared a local disaster emergency and issued evacuation orders Thursday along the swelling White River and other waterways.

— Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Additionally, more than 100 reports of serious adverse events, mostly cases of patients being hospitalized for swelling, respiratory, and heart complications, have been reported to the FDA.

— Adam Feuerstein, STAT, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of swelling

Verb

Dana Williams, American High School The highest-performing students are augmenting their brainpower with AI.

— Dana Williams, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
North Korea has also become an industrious manufacturer of war drones, augmenting Moscow’s capacity to produce the unmanned aerial vehicles that have defined the conflict.

— Timothy Nerozzi, The Washington Examiner, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of augmenting

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“Expanding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expanding. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of expanding

verb

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