breadth
Americannoun
-
breadths
plural
-
the measure of the second largest dimension of a plane or solid figure; width.
-
an extent or piece of something of definite or full width or as measured by its width.
a breadth of cloth.
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freedom from narrowness or restraint; liberality.
a person with great breadth of view.
- Synonyms:
- open-mindedness, impartiality, latitude
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size in general; extent.
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Art. a broad or general effect due to subordination of details or nonessentials.
noun
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the linear extent or measurement of something from side to side; width
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a piece of fabric having a standard or definite width
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distance, extent, size, or dimension
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openness and lack of restriction, esp of viewpoint or interest; liberality
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
Explanation
If you measure the distance of an object from side to side, you are measuring the object’s breadth: “Theodore measured the breadth of the table before buying it to make sure it would fit in his small kitchen.” Breadth often refers to a physical measurement, but it can also be used to describe comprehensiveness or largeness of any kind, such as breadth of knowledge or breadth of experience. In the famous sentence describing Macedonian king Alexander the Great, the word breadth is used to indicate the vastness of Alexander’s empire: “When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer.”
Vocabulary lists containing breadth
100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Mythology
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The Time Machine
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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:
In terms of cumulative volume breadth, both “stocks only” totals reached new all-time highs yesterday, so that is a bullish sign.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
The rare docuseries that’s too short, each episode favors breadth over depth but does reveal how sports increasingly intersected with American culture and politics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Market breadth has been sporadic and was negative on Aug. 5 when SPX reached its highest-ever intraday point so far.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026
Uber’s global network already carries scale, depth and breadth that a single-product platform struggles to match, the analysts say, so this deal could push competitors to try to keep up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
But they’d seek his help for physics and even software coding, a tribute to a rare depth and breadth of scientific capability.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
John B. Read’s lighting now makes less marvelous effects from the depths and breadths of the Met stage.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2014
Meg, who went shopping in the afternoon and got a ‘sweet blue muslin’, had discovered, after she had cut the breadths off, that it wouldn’t wash, which mishap made her slightly cross.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Meg, who went shopping in the afternoon, and got a "sweet blue muslin," had discovered, after she had cut the breadths off, that it wouldn't wash, which mishap made her slightly cross.
From Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy by Louisa May Alcott
Suppose we could see the London milliners' bills, simply for unnecessary breadths of slip and flounce, from April to July; I wonder whether £14,000 would cover them.
From Unto This Last and Other Essays on Political Economy by John Ruskin
Unploughed, unsown, by scythe unshorn, The poor forsaken farm-fields lie, Once rich and rife with golden corn And pale-green breadths of rye.
From Stage-coach and Tavern Days by Alice Morse Earle
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.
