extent

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”
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    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”
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    types:
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    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)
Commonly confused words

extant / extent

They sounds similar and both have exes, but extant means “still here,” and extent refers to “the range of something.” People get them mixed up to a certain extent.

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