broad
adjective
of great breadth.
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broad
1 American
[brawd]
/ brɔd /
adjective
-
broader,
comparative
-
broadest
superlative
-
of great breadth.
The river was too broad to swim across.
- Antonyms:
- narrow
-
measured from side to side.
The desk was three feet broad.
-
of great extent; large.
the broad expanse of ocean.
-
We awoke to broad daylight.
-
not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope.
A modern doctor must have a broad knowledge of medicine.
-
A broad interpretation of the law tempers justice with mercy.
-
main or general.
the broad outlines of a subject.
-
plain or clear.
Her remark was a broad hint of her feelings.
-
He smirked at the broad joke.
- Synonyms:
- gross
-
(of conversation) rough; countrified.
-
unconfined; unbridled; unrestrained;
It was a hilarious evening of broad mirth.
-
(of pronunciation) strongly dialectal.
He wore kilts and had a broad Scots accent.
-
Phonetics. (of a transcription) using one basic symbol to represent each phoneme.
-
broad a, the a- sound when used in lieu of the more common a- sound in such words as half, can't, and laugh.
adverb
noun
-
broads
plural
-
the broad part of anything.
-
Slang.
-
Usually Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman.
-
a promiscuous woman.
-
-
Movies, Television. Often broads. an incandescent or fluorescent lamp used as a general source of light in a studio.
-
a gold coin of England and Scotland, issued by James I and Charles I and equal to 20 shillings.
idioms
-
broad on the quarter, bearing 135° to the heading of a vessel.
-
broad on the bow, bearing 45° to the heading of a vessel.
-
broad on the beam, bearing 90° to the heading of a vessel.
Broad
2
American
[brawd]
/ brɔd /
noun
broad
British
/ brɔːd /
adjective
-
having relatively great breadth or width
-
of vast extent; spacious
a broad plain
-
(postpositive) from one side to the other
four miles broad
-
of great scope or potential
that invention had broad applications
-
not detailed; general
broad plans
-
clear and open; full (esp in the phrase broad daylight )
-
obvious or plain
broad hints
-
liberal; tolerant
a broad political stance
-
widely spread; extensive
broad support
-
outspoken or bold
a broad manner
-
vulgar; coarse; indecent
a broad joke
-
unrestrained; free
broad laughter
-
(of a dialect or pronunciation) consisting of a large number of speech sounds characteristic of a particular geographical area
a broad Yorkshire accent
-
finance denoting an assessment of liquidity as including notes and coin in circulation with the public, banks' till money and balances, most private-sector bank deposits, and sterling bank-deposit certificates Compare narrow
broad money
-
phonetics
-
of or relating to a type of pronunciation transcription in which symbols correspond approximately to phonemes without taking account of allophonic variations
-
the long vowel in English words such as father , half , as represented in the received pronunciation of Southern British English
-
-
amounting to the same thing; without advantage either way
noun
-
the broad part of something
-
slang
-
a girl or woman
-
a prostitute
-
-
dialect a river spreading over a lowland See also Broads
-
dialect a shallow lake
-
a wood-turning tool used for shaping the insides and bottoms of cylinders
adverb
broad
More Idioms
Sensitive Note
When used to refer to a woman, broad is usually perceived as insulting. The meaning “promiscuous woman” is probably the earlier sense.
Synonym Usage
See wide.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of broad
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bro(a)d, Old English brād; cognate with Dutch breed, German breit, Old Norse breithr, Gothic braiths
Explanation
The adjective broad boasts an extensive — you might even say broad — array of subtly different meanings including wide, spacious, far-reaching, vague, and unsubtle. It's kind of funny that the word broad can communicate such an expansive range of ideas since expansive is, in fact, a synonym for broad. This adjective can be used to describe actual physical spaces. A broad highway, for example, would be difficult to cross because of all the cars in the many lanes of the road. The word can also be used more figuratively. American history covers a broad range of topics and events. A broad-minded person is open to new ideas, while broad humor aims for a mass audience with obvious gags and stunts.
Vocabulary lists containing broad
Beowulf vocabulary
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The Star Spangled Banner
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Marley’s songs tend to fall into two very broad categories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
It's a strategy that focuses on how apps are designed, not what is posted on them, essentially sidestepping the broad immunity internet sites enjoy in the US regarding content created by their users.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Researchers also detected a broad range of soluble organic compounds in the meteorite.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
Such orders are used to enforce restrictions on who an offender can have contact with, as well as their internet use or travel, but the judge said the draft order was too broad.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
They saw the twisted, rocky nose, swollen cheeks, slitted mouth, broad chin.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
The avalanche struck on July 30, cutting off contact with the 10-member international expedition led by 43-year-old British-Nepali climber Purja on Broad Peak, one of the world's highest mountains.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
The avalanche struck on Thursday, cutting off contact with the international expedition led by Purja, a 43-year-old British-Nepali climber, on Broad Peak.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Broad Peak is regarded as one of the more challenging mountains for climbers.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Renowned climber Nirmal Purja and nine other mountaineers died after an avalanche on Broad Peak in Pakistan on Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
She had imagined a big fire on Broad Street and painted how she thought it would be.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
“Us old broads are trying to learn the new technology because, I mean, we’re kind of trapped,” said Linda Harner, whom I met at the Culver City Senior Center, where she takes a Spanish class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2022
There were broads smiles and a joyful unity.
From BBC ● Feb. 26, 2022
This is a workout for ladies, by which she means older broads who might appreciate the occasional low-impact leg lifts.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 9, 2019
“I think they just bonded over overcoming their experiences, and being great broads, and being tremendous mothers,” she explained.
From Fox News ● Nov. 30, 2018
He had with him his Jewish servant, Hayim Ben Attar, and his Arabian horse, Sidi Habismilk, both of which were to astonish the natives of the Suffolk broads.
From George Borrow and His Circle Wherein May Be Found Many Hitherto Unpublished Letters Of Borrow And His Friends by Shorter, Clement King
Will it be filmed for a broader audience?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
The S&P 500’s earnings story is getting stronger and broader, and that’s good news for the stock market — particularly for shares of industrial, financial and technology firms, says Wells Fargo Securities.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
To solve the problem of sparse liquidity, the LSE needs the help of a broader cultural shift in the U.K.,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The presence of Silescelida acristata in the Middle Triassic of Brazil shows that the evolutionary history of archosauriforms was broader and more complex than previously thought.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
She who had worn the coat then was tall, slim, broader than I about the shoulders, for I had found it big and over-long, and the sleeves had come below my wrists.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
That may not necessarily be unique in the broadest span of TV history, but it’s rare enough for the layperson to recognize the difference between a James Burrows show and those of other directors.
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2026
David Hockney, who has died aged 88, was Britain's favourite artist - and a man of trenchant views, expressed in the broadest of Yorkshire vowels.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
Streamers are now faced with having to assemble the broadest range of content on their platforms to keep subscribers onboard for longer.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
The current account is the broadest indicator of a country’s trading and investing relationship with other nations, and a deficit may reflect a low level of national savings relative to investment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
“How can woman’s position be changed from that of a subordinate to an equal,” she wrote, “without opposition, without the broadest discussion of all the questions involved in her present degradation?”
From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
