What does "extension" mean?
The act of extending; a stretching out; enlargement in length, breadth, or time; an increase.
Extension
/ɪkˈstɛnʃən/ noun
noun ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The act of extending; a stretching out; enlargement in length, breadth, or time; an increase.
- Grammar: extension is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: denotation, elongation, prolongation, access.
- Useful contrasts: early stopping, legal time limit, abbreviation.
- Usage evidence: The extension of summer vacation delighted the children.
How to use "extension"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "extension" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "extension" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "extension" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "extension" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "extension" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "denotation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "extension", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The act of extending; a stretching out; enlargement in length, breadth, or time; an increase. countable, uncountable
"Next month the house is undergoing an extension."
- 2 act of expanding in scope; making more widely available wordnet
- 3 The state of being extended. countable, uncountable
"For station is properly no rest, but one kind of motion, relating unto that which physicians (from Galen) do name extensive or tonical; that is, an extension of the muscles and organs of motion, maintaining the body at length, or in its proper figure."
- 4 act of stretching or straightening out a flexed limb wordnet
- 5 That property of a body by which it occupies a portion of space (or time, e.g. "spatiotemporal extension"). countable, uncountable
Show 28 more definitions
- 6 an educational opportunity provided by colleges and universities to people who are not enrolled as regular students wordnet
- 7 A short exact sequence 1→H→E→G→1, or the group E therein. countable, uncountable
- 8 an addition that extends a main building wordnet
- 9 A short exact sequence 0→B→E→A→0, or the object E therein. countable, uncountable
- 10 an addition to the length of something wordnet
- 11 A part of a building that has been added onto the original. countable, uncountable
- 12 an additional telephone set that is connected to the same telephone line wordnet
- 13 An outgrowth; a part of something that extends its capabilities. countable, uncountable
"Parents who treat their children as an extension of themselves"
- 14 amount or degree or range to which something extends wordnet
- 15 Capacity of a concept or general term to include a greater or smaller number of objects; — correlative of intension. countable, uncountable
"Perversely, we love John Wick himself. That lethal, bereaved assassin is a good bad guy for our times, the natural extension of Tony Soprano, Walter White and all the other heroic antiheroes the culture has embraced."
- 16 the ability to raise the working leg high in the air wordnet
- 17 semantic widening, broadening of meaning countable, uncountable
- 18 the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to wordnet
- 19 A written engagement on the part of a creditor, allowing a debtor further time to pay a debt. countable, uncountable
- 20 the spreading of something (a belief or practice) into new regions wordnet
- 21 The operation of stretching a broken bone so as to bring the fragments into the same straight line. countable, uncountable
- 22 a string of characters beginning with a period and followed by one or more letters; the optional second part of a PC computer filename wordnet
- 23 An exercise in which an arm or leg is straightened against resistance. countable, uncountable
- 24 a mutually agreed delay in the date set for the completion of a job or payment of a debt wordnet
- 25 A simple offensive action, consisting of extending the weapon arm forward. countable, uncountable
- 26 A numerical code used to indicate a specific telephone in a telecommunication network. countable, uncountable
- 27 Ellipsis of file extension. abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
"Files with the .txt extension usually contain text."
- 28 An optional software component that adds functionality to an application. countable, uncountable
"a browser extension"
- 29 The set of tuples of values that, used as arguments, satisfy the predicate. countable, uncountable
- 30 A kind of derivative morpheme applied to verbs in Bantu languages. countable, uncountable
- 31 The ideal in the codomain generated by the image of the given ideal under the given homomorphism. countable, uncountable
- 32 University programs that are targeted at the broader (usually adults) community whose participants are not full-time enrolled students. countable, uncountable
- 33 Clipping of hair extension, nail extension, or eyelash extension. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, in-plural, uncountable
Antonyms
Example
"The extension of summer vacation delighted the children."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "extension"?
Common synonyms include: denotation, elongation, prolongation, access, accession, accessory.
How do you use "extension" in a sentence?
The extension of summer vacation delighted the children.
How do you pronounce "extension"?
Pronounced /ɪkˈstɛnʃən/.
Etymology
From Middle English extensioun, from Old French estension, from Latin extensiō, extensiōnem.