enlarge

Compared meaning: to make something bigger (verb).

比较义项：使变大，扩大（动词）。

• expand

  Broader in use: can be intransitive (something expands on its own) or transitive, and often describes growth in scope, size, or influence, such as a business, market, or gas. Common in abstract or non-physical contexts.

  用法更广：既可作不及物动词（事物自行膨胀、扩张），也可作及物动词，常用于描述范围、规模或影响力的扩大，例如业务、市场或气体；常用于抽象或非实体的语境。

  Gas expands when it is heated, filling the container completely.

  气体受热时会膨胀，充满整个容器。

• enlarge 本词

  Almost always transitive: someone enlarges something. Typically used for making a physical thing bigger, such as a photo, image, or room, rather than abstract growth.

  几乎总是及物动词：某人使某物变大，通常用于把具体实物变大，例如照片、图像或房间，而不是抽象意义上的增长。

  Could you enlarge this photo so we can see her face more clearly?

  你能把这张照片放大一点，让我们看清楚她的脸吗？

Expand and enlarge both mean to make something bigger. Expand can be used with or without an object, and often describes growth in scope, like a business. Enlarge almost always needs an object, and means making something physical bigger, like a photo or room.

expand 和 enlarge 都表示“使变大”，但用法有别：expand 既可作不及物动词（事物自行膨胀、扩张），也可作及物动词，常用于描述范围、规模或影响力的扩大，例如业务、市场或气体；enlarge 几乎总是及物动词，强调把具体、可见的事物变大，例如照片、房间等。