extent

/ɛkˈstɛnt/

/ɛksˈtɛnt/

Other forms: extents

The extent is the area something covers. That could be physical space or something like being prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Use the word extent when you are discussing how far something extends — how far it reaches. If you're an expert, the extent of your knowledge is wide. If you own a lot of property, the extent of your land is huge. The full extent of something is like the limit — that's the end of it. If you've reached the extent of your patience, you're out of patience. If an earthquake destroyed your house, the extent of the damage was severe.

Definitions of extent

1. noun

   the point or degree to which something extends
   “the extent of the damage”

   “the full extent of the law”

   “to a certain extent she was right”

   type of:

   degree, level, point, stage

   a specific identifiable position in a continuum or series or especially in a process
2. noun

   the distance or area or volume over which something extends
   “the vast extent of the desert”

   “an orchard of considerable extent”

   types:

   coverage

   the extent to which something is covered

   frontage

   the extent of land abutting on a street or water

   bound, boundary, limit

   the greatest possible degree of something

   ambit, compass, orbit, range, reach, scope

   an area in which something acts or operates or has power or control: "the range of a supersonic jet"

   area, expanse, surface area

   the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary

   length

   the property of being the extent of something from beginning to end

   deepness, depth

   the extent downward or backward or inward

   knife-edge

   a narrow boundary

   absoluteness, starkness, utterness

   the quality of being complete or utter or extreme

   heat barrier, thermal barrier

   a limit to high speed flight imposed by aerodynamic heating

   level best, maximum, utmost, uttermost

   the greatest possible degree

   brink, cusp, verge

   the limit beyond which something happens or changes

   approximate range, ballpark

   near to the scope or range of something

   confines, pale

   a bounded scope

   contrast

   the range of optical density and tone on a photographic negative or print (or the extent to which adjacent areas on a television screen differ in brightness)

   internationalism, internationality

   quality of being international in scope

   latitude

   scope for freedom of e.g. action or thought; freedom from restriction

   horizon, purview, view

   the range of interest or activity that can be anticipated

   expanse, sweep

   a wide scope

   gamut

   a complete extent or range: "a face that expressed a gamut of emotions"

   spectrum

   a broad range of related objects, values, qualities, ideas, or activities

   palette, pallet

   the range of colour characteristic of a particular artist or painting or school of art

   acreage, land area

   an area of ground used for some particular purpose (such as building or farming)

   footprint

   the area taken up by some object

   deepness, profoundness, profundity

   the quality of being physically deep

   draft, draught

   the depth of a vessel's keel below the surface (especially when loaded)

   penetration

   the depth to which something penetrates (especially the depth reached by a projectile that hits a target)

   sounding

   a measure of the depth of water taken with a sounding line

   shallowness

   the quality of lacking physical depth

   erasure

   a surface area where something has been erased

   blank space, place, space

   a blank area

   space

   one of the areas between or below or above the lines of a musical staff

   balk, baulk

   the area on a billiard table behind the balkline

   plane section, section

   (geometry) the area created by a plane cutting through a solid

   segment

   the area of a circle bounded by a chord and an arc of the circle

   type of:

   magnitude

   the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)