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

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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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use broach in a sentence

We were at the CIA recently, and I broached this question because it was front and center in our make-believe intelligence agency.
‘Homeland’ Showrunner: ‘We Knew We Had to Plot a New Course’|Andrew Romano|September 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Names broached have included former Treasury secretary Tim Geithner and former Fed vice chairman Donald Kohn.
Roger Ferguson Is Wall Street’s Fantasy for Federal Reserve Chairman|Daniel Gross|September 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
These questions were not broached, and it almost seemed as if the lawmakers were not even interested in the answers.
A One-Sided House Hearing Against Palestinian Reconciliation|Zaid Jilani|February 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Some of the principals met at an airport, and center officials broached getting one of the sons on the board.
Betty Ford Center's Messy Path After Former First Lady's Death|Lois Romano|November 9, 2011|DAILY BEAST

She added that Koch Industries had “good-faith concerns we broached with CPI” that remained unanswered.
Corporate Counterattack|Laura Colarusso|April 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The Margaretta, with no hand at her helm, broached to, and in a minute more the sloop came crashing against her.
Stories of Our Naval Heroes|Various
The yacht nearly broached to, while the next oncoming wave broke fairly aboard, filling the cockpit half-full of water.
The Rival Campers|Ruel Perley Smith
The officers in charge broached many casks of spirits, and as the liquid ran down the streets, a Greek was seen to set fire to it.
The British Expedition to the Crimea|William Howard Russell
There came that kind of pause that happens when a subject is broached too big and difficult for the gathering.
The New Machiavelli|Herbert George Wells
It was to the Pentagram Circle that I first broached the new conceptions that were developing in my mind.
The New Machiavelli|Herbert George Wells

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 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