Meaning & use
vast empty expanses
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Meanings
phraseplural
Very large areas of land, sea, or space that contain almost nothing or nobody.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun phrase; it often appears after 'of' to name what the area belongs to.
Patterns
- vast empty expanses of something
- stretch across vast empty expanses
- nothing but vast empty expanses
The plane flew over vast empty expanses of desert for hours.
In winter the plains become vast empty expanses of snow.
Explorers crossed vast empty expanses with no roads or towns.
phrasepluralfigurative
A very great range or amount of something that feels blank, bare, or without activity.
Grammar: Figurative use: the 'expanses' are not physical places but areas of experience or time.
Patterns
- vast empty expanses of time
- vast empty expanses of memory
After retiring, he faced vast empty expanses of time with nothing planned.
The novel describes vast empty expanses of grief and silence.
Common combinations
- vast empty expanses of desert
- Camels can travel for days across vast empty expanses of desert.
- vast empty expanses of ocean
- From the deck we saw only vast empty expanses of ocean.
- stretch across vast empty expanses
- The railway stretches across vast empty expanses of the north.
- nothing but vast empty expanses
- Beyond the last village there was nothing but vast empty expanses.
- gaze over vast empty expanses
- She stood on the cliff and gazed over vast empty expanses of sea.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vast wastelands
- Suggests land that is not only empty but also useless or barren, so it sounds more negative than the neutral phrase.
- wide open spaces
- More positive and often used of countryside people enjoy; it does not emphasize emptiness as strongly.
- desolation
- An uncountable noun for a feeling or state of emptiness; it cannot be used in the plural pattern 'expanses of'.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: vast empty expanses or expansion?
vast empty expanses vs expansion
A noun meaning growth in size or amount, not a wide open area; 'vast expansions' would mean very large increases.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase describes large areas with almost nothing in them, so 'ocean' fits. Option 0 is contradictory because busy streets are not empty, and options 2 and 3 use 'expanses' with countable objects (furniture, letters) rather than areas.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “vast empty expanses”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.