ausdehnt

Ausdehnt is a German verb form connected with the meaning to extend, stretch, or widen. In standard usage, ausdehnen is a separable-prefix verb, and in present tense it is normally written as dehnt sich aus or dehnt etwas aus. The form commonly written as ausdehnt is not the standard present-tense spelling in ordinary prose; the two-word construction is preferred, especially when the subject acts reflexively or on an object.

Etymology and sense: The verb combines aus- (outward, external) with dehnen (to stretch). Together they describe increasing the size, length, or extent of something, whether physical, spatial, or abstract. The noun form Ausdehnung denotes the act or result of expanding and is widely used in science and everyday language.

Usage and examples: In everyday German, it is often used to describe physical expansion, such as Der Raum dehnt sich aus (The space expands). It can also refer to markets, regions, or bodies that grow outward, for example Die Stadt dehnt sich über das Umland aus. In science, Ausdehnung is common in cosmology (die Ausdehnung des Universums) and in materials science (die lineare Ausdehnung eines Stabs bei Temperaturanstieg).

Related forms: Ausgedehnt is the past participle or adjective form, as in ein ausgedehntes Gebiet (an extensive area). Present participle is ausdehnend. The concept is closely linked to the noun Ausdehnung, which can describe the act, extent, or measurable expansion of a system.

See also: Dehnen, Ausbreitung (spreading), Expansion (loanword).