broach

[ brohch ]

/ broʊtʃ /

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noun

Machinery. an elongated, tapered, serrated cutting tool for shaping and enlarging holes.

a spit for roasting meat.

a gimlet for tapping casks.

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

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

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

brooch.

verb (used with object)

to enlarge and finish with a broach.

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

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

to tap or pierce.

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

verb (used without object)

Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to veer to windward.

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

OTHER WORDS FOR broach

8 introduce, propose, bring up, submit, advance.

See synonyms for broach on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

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Question 1 of 7

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Origin of broach

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 FROM broach

broacher, nounun·broached, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH broach

broach , brooch

Words nearby broach

BRM, BRN, Brno, Brno chair, bro, broach, broad, broad arrow, broadax, broadband, broad-based

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use broach in a sentence

Gaga wanted us to pay attention, and she did it by pinching and stretching other words throughout the anthem, as well as donning a spectacular outfit, which included a golden dove broach that appeared to be life size.
Our national anthem ends with a question. Lady Gaga answered it as best she could.|Chris Richards|January 20, 2021|Washington Post
Woven into the very fabric of its characters, Masters uses sex to broach bigger topics.
What Porn Stars Find Sexy on TV: From ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Deadliest Catch’|Aurora Snow|September 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
CEO Mark Thompson for his advice on how she should broach the subject with Baquet and try to get his assent.
Fired New York Times Editor Jill Abramson Blitzes the Media|Lloyd Grove|July 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
White was unafraid to broach the notion that life is not only mysterious but sometimes completely inexplicable.
Jill Lepore on When Life Begins and Ends in ‘The Mansions of Happiness’|Malcolm Jones|June 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Some of his supporters remain so passionate that the subject can be difficult to broach.
In Greg Mortenson's Silence, His Neighbors Defend Him, or Vilify Him|Mike Giglio|June 7, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Now as always, Republicans need bipartisan cover to broach the subject of serious budget cutting.
How Obama Can Win the Budget Fight|Ed Kilgore|March 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
From the use of a similar instrument to tap casks, comes "to broach" or "tap" a cask.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
Again and again I asked myself this question, but I dared not broach it to my relatives.
Scottish Ghost Stories|Elliott O'Donnell
To broach a pipe, pierce it with an auger or gimlet, four fingers- breadth over the lower rim, so that the dregs may not rise.
Early English Meals and Manners|Various
An application was at once determined on to her, and Stead was employed to broach the subject to the diviner.
The Chronicles of Crime or The New Newgate Calendar. v. 1/2|Camden Pelham
He stood like one in a dream, unable to decide how to broach the subject that had brought him there.
Brother Jacques (Novels of Paul de Kock, Volume XVII)|Charles Paul de Kock

British Dictionary definitions for broach (1 of 2)

broach¹

/ (brəʊtʃ) /

verb

(tr) to initiate (a topic) for discussionto broach a dangerous subject

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

(tr) to open in order to begin to useto broach a shipment

(intr) to break the surface of the waterthe trout broached after being hooked

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

noun

a long tapered toothed cutting tool for enlarging holes

a spit for roasting meat, etc

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

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

a tool used for tapping casks

a less common spelling of brooch

Derived forms of broach

broacher, noun

Word Origin for broach

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

British Dictionary definitions for broach (2 of 2)

broach²

/ (brəʊtʃ) /

verb

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

Word Origin for broach

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

broach

OTHER WORDS FOR broach

Origin of broach

OTHER WORDS FROM broach

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH broach

Words nearby broach

Words related to broach

How to use broach in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for broach (1 of 2)

Derived forms of broach

Word Origin for broach

British Dictionary definitions for broach (2 of 2)

Word Origin for broach