Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To explain in detail; elucidate.
  • intransitive verb To make known or set forth; present.
  • intransitive verb To make a detailed statement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To lay open; examine.
  • To set forth the points or principles of; lay open the meaning of; explain; interpret: as, to expound a text of Scripture; to expound a law.
  • Synonyms Interpret, Elucidate, etc. See explain.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb obsolete To lay open; to expose to view; to examine.
  • transitive verb To lay open the meaning of; to explain; to clear of obscurity; to interpret.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To lay open; to expose to view; to examine or exposit.
  • verb To lay open the meaning of; to explain or discuss at length; to clear of obscurity; to interpret.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb state
  • verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English expounden, from Anglo-Norman espoundre, from Latin expōnere : ex-, ex- + pōnere, to place; see apo- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

Comments

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  • verb: add details or explanation; clarify the meaning; state in depth

    The CEO refused to expound on the decision to merge our department with another one, and so I quit.

    October 19, 2016