broach

[brohch]

See more synonyms for broach on Thesaurus.com

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.

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

Related formsbroach·er, nounun·broached, adjective

Can be confusedbroach brooch

Synonyms for broach

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for broach

moot, advance, ventilate, offer, suggest, move, interpose, introduce, mention, interject, submit, propose, approach, begin, tap, decant, start, puncture, crack, uncork

Examples from the Web for broach

Contemporary Examples of broach

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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of broach

He was not timid, however, and resolved to broach the subject.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
What say ye if we run back with a fair wind and broach that anker of Nants?'
Micah Clarke
Arthur Conan Doyle
How should he broach the matter which, moreover, did not concern him?
Nana, The Miller's Daughter, Captain Burle, Death of Olivier Becaille
Emile Zola
The thought that had seized him was agony, and he could not broach it at once.
Capt'n Davy's Honeymoon
Hall Caine
It is as easy to broach in mixed companies what is called "the subject of religion."
Essays, Second Series
Ralph Waldo Emerson

British Dictionary definitions for broach

broach

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 Formsbroacher, noun

Word Origin for broach

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

broach

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

Word Origin and History for broach

"pointed instrument," c.1300, from Old French broche (12c.) "spit for roasting, awl, point end, top," from Vulgar Latin *brocca "pointed tool," noun use of fem. of Latin adjective broccus "projecting, pointed" (used especially of teeth), perhaps of Gaulish origin (cf. Gaelic brog "awl").

"pierce," early 14c., from the same source as broach (n.). Meaning "begin to talk about" is 1570s, a figurative use with suggestions of "broaching" a cask or of spurring into action (cf. Old French brochier, 12c., "to spur," also "to penetrate sexually"). Related: Broached broaching.

broach in Medicine

broach

[brōch]

A dental instrument for removing the pulp of a tooth or exploring its canal.