broach

[ brohch ]
See synonyms for broach on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Machinery. an elongated, tapered, serrated cutting tool for shaping and enlarging holes.

  2. a spit for roasting meat.

  1. a gimlet for tapping casks.

  2. (in a lock) a pin receiving the barrel of a key.

  3. Also broach spire .Architecture. an octagonal spire rising directly from a tower without any intervening feature.

  4. Masonry. a pointed tool for the rough dressing of stone.

verb (used with object)
  1. to enlarge and finish with a broach.

  2. to mention or suggest for the first time: to broach a subject.

  1. to draw (beer, liquor, etc.), as by tapping: to broach beer from a keg.

  2. to tap or pierce.

  3. Masonry. to shape or dress (a block of stone).

verb (used without object)
  1. Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to veer to windward.

  2. to break the surface of water; rise from the sea, as a fish or a submarine.

Origin of broach

1
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English broche<Anglo-French, Old French <Vulgar Latin *brocca spike, horn, tap of a cask (Medieval Latin broca), noun use of feminine of Latin adj. brocc(h)us projecting (said of teeth); (v.) Middle English brochen<Old French broch(i)er, derivative of the noun

Other words for broach

Other words from broach

  • broach·er, noun
  • un·broached, adjective

Words that may be confused with broach

Words Nearby broach

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use broach in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for broach (1 of 2)

broach1

/ (brəʊtʃ) /


verb
  1. (tr) to initiate (a topic) for discussion: to broach a dangerous subject

  2. (tr) to tap or pierce (a container) to draw off (a liquid): to broach a cask; to broach wine

  1. (tr) to open in order to begin to use: to broach a shipment

  2. (intr) to break the surface of the water: the trout broached after being hooked

  3. (tr) machinery to enlarge and finish (a hole) by reaming

noun
  1. a long tapered toothed cutting tool for enlarging holes

  2. a spit for roasting meat, etc

  1. a roof covering the corner triangle on the top of a square tower having an octagonal spire

  2. a pin, forming part of some types of lock, that registers in the hollow bore of a key

  3. a tool used for tapping casks

  4. a less common spelling of brooch

Origin of broach

1
C14: from Old French broche, from Vulgar Latin brocca (unattested), from Latin brochus projecting

Derived forms of broach

  • broacher, noun

British Dictionary definitions for broach (2 of 2)

broach2

/ (brəʊtʃ) /


verb
  1. nautical (usually foll by to) to cause (a sailing vessel) to swerve sharply and dangerously or (of a sailing vessel) to swerve sharply and dangerously in a following sea, so as to be broadside to the waves

Origin of broach

2
C18: perhaps from broach 1 in obsolete sense of turn on a spit

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012