wide
adjective
having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad.
wide
1 American
[wahyd]
/ waɪd /
adjective
-
wider,
comparative
-
widest
superlative
-
having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad.
a wide boulevard.
- Antonyms:
- narrow
-
having a certain or specified extent from side to side.
three feet wide.
-
of great horizontal extent; extensive; vast; spacious.
the wide plains of the West.
- Synonyms:
- ample, comprehensive, boundless
-
of great range or scope; embracing a great number or variety of subjects, cases, etc..
wide experience.
-
open to the full or a great extent; expanded; distended.
to stare with wide eyes.
-
apart or remote from a specified point or object.
a guess wide of the truth.
-
too far or too much to one side.
a shot wide of the mark.
-
Baseball. outside.
The pitch was wide of the plate.
-
full, ample, or roomy, as clothing.
He wore wide, flowing robes.
-
Phonetics. lax.
-
British Slang. shrewd; wary.
adverb
-
to the full extent of opening.
Open your mouth wide.
-
to the utmost, or fully.
to be wide awake.
-
away from or to one side of a point, mark, purpose, or the like; aside; astray.
The shot went wide.
-
over an extensive space or region, or far abroad.
scattered far and wide.
-
to a great, or relatively great, extent from side to side.
The river runs wide here.
noun
-
Cricket. a bowled ball that goes wide of the wicket, and counts as a run for the side batting.
-
Archaic. a wide space or expanse.
-wide
2
American
wide
British
/ waɪd /
adjective
-
having a great extent from side to side
-
of vast size or scope; spacious or extensive
-
-
(postpositive) having a specified extent, esp from side to side
two yards wide
-
(in combination) covering or extending throughout
nationwide
-
-
distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etc
your guess is wide of the mark
-
(of eyes) opened fully
-
loose, full, or roomy
wide trousers
-
exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limits
a wide variation
adverb
-
over an extensive area
to travel far and wide
-
to the full extent
he opened the door wide
-
far from the desired point, mark, etc
noun
-
(in cricket) a bowled ball that is outside the batsman's reach and scores a run for the batting side
-
archaic a wide space or extent
-
completely
wide
Idioms
Usage
What does -wide mean? The combining form -wide is used like a suffix meaning “wide,” in the sense of "throughout" or "in or to every part of." It is occasionally used in everyday and technical terms. The form -wide comes from Old English wīd, meaning “wide.”
Synonym Usage
Wide, broad refer to dimensions. They are often interchangeable, but wide especially applies to things of which the length is much greater than the width: a wide road, piece of ribbon. Broad is more emphatic, and applies to things of considerable or great width, breadth, or extent, especially to surfaces extending laterally: a broad valley.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overwidenessnoun
-
widenessnoun
-
overwideadjective
-
superwideadjective
-
ultrawideadjective
-
widishadjective
-
overwidelyadverb
-
widelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of wide
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wīd; cognate with Dutch wijd, German weit, Old Norse vīthr
Explanation
The word wide describes something that stretches across a great distance, like a smile that beams from ear to ear, or the open arms of a friend about to give you a big hug. Wide is an adjective that describes both physical spaces and ideas. A hallway with plenty of room for everyone to walk through can be called wide. If a dinner party has lots of different foods to pick from, you could say there’s a wide selection of dishes. A situation with many possible outcomes might have a wide range of results. Whether it's about space or variety, the word wide is all about having plenty of room.
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:
The wide spread may have been a lingering artifact of the Eurozone debt crisis that followed the financial crisis, but either way, it has started to widen.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
What Gap Inc. is proposing is more wide ranging—and comes with more risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026
That combination of wide coverage and high resolution will allow Roman to carry out enormous surveys of the cosmos.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
Oaks support a wide range of organisms, anchoring entire ecosystems, and also serve the vital task of storing carbon on a warming planet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
We too belonged to that wide free world.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Trail mix: Grab your plastic bib and wooden mallet for the miles-long and -wide sealife buffet.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2019
The foot-tall and -wide tender perennial from South Africa had attractive purplish buds, but the narrow green leaves were slightly weedy-looking.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2017
With nearly four years to prepare for the next World Cup, he has time to cast a much wider net.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
This is already affecting rates in Europe, as yields rise to reflect tighter monetary policy and higher inflation, leading to wider spreads.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
Staff at the care home are "super proud of him" and are "excited" to see his artwork gain wider recognition, with Fawley challenging perceptions of what people can achieve in care.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
The Clarity Act, a landmark bill meant to usher digital assets into wider use, collapsed after U.S. senators officially voted it down.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Her brown eyes seemed wider than dog bowls.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
It's a gap of 5.8 percentage points this year, down from 6.2 last year and 9.5 in 2017, when it was at its widest this century.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Many of the roads covered by the ban are the widest in the old town and are popular with delivery drivers.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
A bit farther down the list sits yet another Vanguard fund that casts the widest possible net, owning 10,000 stocks globally.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
This marks the planet's widest visible separation from the Sun during its current appearance in the evening sky.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
I take a giant bite of s’more, peeking up at him with my widest, most innocent eyes.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
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.
