enlargement

[ en-lahrj-muhnt ]

noun

1. an act of enlarging; increase, expansion, or amplification.
2. anything, as a photograph, that is an enlarged form of something.
3. anything that enlarges something else; addition:

   The new wing formed a considerable enlargement to the building.

Other Words From

• preen·largement noun
• proen·largement adjective
• reen·largement noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of enlargement¹

First recorded in 1530–40; enlarge + -ment

Example Sentences

The European Parliament shapes the direction of EU laws and policies by amending and passing laws and deciding on international agreements and enlargements.

From BBC

He pressed his hands against her abdomen to seek out masses in the liver or enlargement of the spleen.

From New York Times

This involves the physician taking a picture of the skin lesion with a mobile phone equipped with an enlargement lens called a dermatoscope.

From Science Daily

In a late February memo to museum staff obtained by The Times, Kanjo described the closure as an effort to concentrate programming in La Jolla, 13 miles up the coast, after its recent enlargement.

From Los Angeles Times

An aneurysm is the enlargement of an artery caused by a weakness in a blood vessel wall.

From BBC

Related Words

• augmentation
• growth