breadth

American  

[bredth, bretth, breth] / brɛdθ, brɛtθ, brɛθ /

noun

1. the measure of the second largest dimension of a plane or solid figure; width.

2. an extent or piece of something of definite or full width or as measured by its width.

   a breadth of cloth.

3. freedom from narrowness or restraint; liberality.

   a person with great breadth of view.

   Synonyms:

   open-mindedness, impartiality, latitude

4. size in general; extent.

   Synonyms:

   compass, reach, range, scope, span

5. Art. a broad or general effect due to subordination of details or nonessentials.

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breadth British  

/ brɛtθ, brɛdθ /

noun

1. the linear extent or measurement of something from side to side; width

2. a piece of fabric having a standard or definite width

3. distance, extent, size, or dimension

4. openness and lack of restriction, esp of viewpoint or interest; liberality

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Other Word Forms

• breadthless adjective

Etymology

Origin of breadth

1515–25; earlier bredeth, equivalent to brede breadth ( Middle English; Old English brǣdu, equivalent to brǣd-, mutated variant of brād broad + -u noun suffix) + -th ¹ ( def. ) akin to German Breite, Gothic braidei

Example Sentences

Alexander’s production of “Sweeney Todd” has breadth and heft, but also intimacy and lightness.

From Los Angeles Times

“You work with what you have, but it doesn’t have the same depth and the same breadth that you get from the government data,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal

Make no mistake, the spending power across the breadth of the division has never been stronger.

From BBC

But we might remark on the breadth of its impact as another result of transformed educational priorities, monoculture’s demise and individualized information streams.

From Salon

He ducked and Irian sent another arrow, which missed by a hair’s breadth.

From Literature

Related Words

• comprehensiveness
• dimension
• fullness
• magnitude
• range
• scale
• scope
• size