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:
For instance, the crew built the “Nunavut arm,” a jib mounted on a pickup truck’s flatbed to capture wide outdoor shots.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
But that’s hard to see when the internet has built such a wide chasm between people, reducing the impact of writing in favor of scrolling.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
The president has wide discretion to pick someone they believe has the best chance of building a coalition.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
Bartholdi’s Liberty descended from a wide range of similar figures, dating all the way back to the French Revolution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
His eyes are wide and his hair is neatly parted.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
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
The BBC's wider investigation also revealed at least £150m is currently owed to the government in uncollected illegal-working fines, according to Home Office figures exclusively obtained by the BBC.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
A sustained market downturn would directly impact their spending power, especially for retirees, creating a wider economic risk.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
In the souks, men carry stacks of rugs on their shoulders and craftsmen shape brass lanterns in stalls no wider than a closet.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Still, “Nvidia likely has a wider moat than any other AI player, between its chips, its software ecosystem and the fact that developers are built around it,” he said in emailed comments.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
Voxy’s eyes are wider than when I was telling him about la Llorona.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
The pots were large ovoid, flat-based jars with two handles, many featuring a raised horizontal clay “belt” around the widest part of the jar.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
“Wildwood” is both the widest release and “highest-profile title” Fathom has ever done, according to Jason Brenek, Fathom’s chief executive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026
The U.S. trade deficit expanded in August to its widest in more than a year, as imports of products such as crude oil, gold and semiconductors increased, the WSJ’s Konrad Putzier and Anthony DeBarros write.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The company also says the gap between the value of a flat and a house is the widest it has been for 30 years.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
He tried to gather both the widest and the most close-up view of every situation, even when it was bad, so that he could offer a truly informed response.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
