There are lots of posts about the difference between extend and expand, but I can hardly find any posts explaining their synonymous usages. When do you use them interchangeably?
1
-
That is because they are not close synonyms, and they are not interchangeable. They both mean "get bigger" in some way, but differently as you have found. One synonymous usage, though, if your house is too small, could be "we extended/expanded the accommodation".– Weather VaneJun 17, 2021 at 6:45
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
The word "extend" is used for linear things.
The word "expand" is used for two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects.
Examples of "extend":
- We can extend the rope with a carabiner
- We can extend the life of your pet dog for at most 6 months (time is modeled as being linear)
- We can extend the shelf life of our company's breakfast cereal by adding tri-sodium phosphate to it (time is modeled as being linear)
- John extended his arm to William (human arms are long an skinny, approximately linear)
Examples of "expand":
- China expanded into Tibet in the year 1959. (China looks like a two-dimensional blob on most world maps)
- The balloon expanded as the clown used a pump to put more air into it ( a balloon is three-dimensional, and has volume)
