broadcast

American  

[brawd-kast, -kahst] / ˈbrɔdˌkæst, -ˌkɑst /

verb (used with object)

• broadcasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• broadcast,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasted,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasting
  present participle

1. to transmit (programs) from a radio or television station.

2. to speak, perform, sponsor, or present on a radio or television program.

   The president will broadcast his message on all stations tonight.

3. to cast or scatter abroad over an area, as seed in sowing.

4. to spread widely; disseminate.

   She broadcast the good news all over town.

5. to indicate unwittingly to another (one's next action); telegraph.

   He broadcast his punch and the other man was able to parry it.

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verb (used without object)

• broadcasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• broadcast,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasted,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasting
  present participle

1. to transmit programs or signals from a radio or television station.

2. to make something known widely; disseminate something.

3. to speak, perform, sponsor, or present all or part of a radio or television program.

   The Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts every Saturday on our local station.

noun

• broadcasts
  plural

1. something that is broadcast.

2. a single radio or television program.

3. the broadcasting of radio or television messages, speeches, etc.

4. a single period of broadcasting

5. a method of sowing by scattering seed.

adjective

1. (of programs) transmitted from a radio or television station.

2. of or relating to broadcasting.

3. cast abroad or all over an area, as seed scattered widely.

adverb

1. so as to reach the greatest number of people by radio or television.

   The vital news was sent broadcast to inform the entire nation.

2. so as to be cast abroad over an area.

   seed sown broadcast.

broadcast British  

/ ˈbrɔːdˌkɑːst /

verb

1. to transmit (announcements or programmes) on radio or television

2. (intr) to take part in a radio or television programme

3. (tr) to make widely known throughout an area

   to broadcast news

4. (tr) to scatter (seed, etc) over an area, esp by hand

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noun

1. 1. a transmission or programme on radio or television

   2. ( as modifier )

      a broadcast signal

2. 1. the act of scattering seeds

   2. ( as modifier )

      the broadcast method of sowing

adjective

1. dispersed over a wide area

   broadcast seeds

adverb

1. far and wide

   seeds to be sown broadcast

Usage

What does broadcast mean? Broadcast means to transmit a television or radio program, as in The network broadcasted cartoons every Saturday morning. In this sense a broadcast can be a single TV or radio program, as in the 6 o’clock news broadcast. Broadcast also means to deliver a message on a transmitted program, as in The police broadcasted the press release on the evening news. More generally, broadcast means to spread something widely, as in She broadcasted her recent wedding engagement to all of her family members. Related to this sense, a broadcast can be news or something similar that you share widely, like your broadcast to your classmates about the A you got on the test. Broadcast also means to mistakenly make a next move obvious, as in The boxer broadcasted his punch with a flashy windup. Example: Coverage of the awards ceremony was the leading story on every news broadcast. 

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• broadcaster
  noun
• broadcasting
  noun
• unbroadcasted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• broadcasts
  plural

Participles

• broadcasting
  present
• broadcast
  past
• broadcasted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• broadcast
  simple
• broadcasts
  simple
• have broadcast
  perfect
• have broadcasted
  perfect
• has broadcast
  perfect
• has broadcasted
  perfect
• am broadcasting
  progressive
• are broadcasting
  progressive
• is broadcasting
  progressive
• have been broadcasting
  perfect progressive
• has been broadcasting
  perfect progressive

Past

• broadcast
  simple
• broadcasted
  simple
• had broadcast
  perfect
• had broadcasted
  perfect
• was broadcasting
  progressive
• were broadcasting
  progressive
• had been broadcasting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will broadcast
  simple
• will have broadcast
  perfect
• will have broadcasted
  perfect
• will be broadcasting
  progressive
• will have been broadcasting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of broadcast

First recorded in 1760–70; originally, broad (adverb) + cast, past participle of cast ( def. )

Explanation

To broadcast is to air a program, especially on TV or radio. It also means to tell people about something. If you paint your one true love’s name on your car, you broadcast your feelings to the whole world! The word broadcast used to have to do with spreading seed, but now it refers to spreading information. It can be a noun or verb — if you turn on the radio, you're hearing a broadcast, and the station is broadcasting that show. You don’t have to be in a studio to broadcast, though. Any time you let a lot of people know about something (whether they like it or not), you broadcast. When information is broadcast, it becomes widely known.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

broadcast broadcasts broadcasted broadcasting

To scratch that fully voyeuristic itch, we often have to wait for merger and dealmaker principals to talk for themselves: the sit-down broadcast interviews; the expansive anecdotes from a panel stage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Perhaps the upper limits they face are the hours in a day to make and to broadcast the show.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Irish broadcaster RTÉ will not broadcast or participate in the 2027 Eurovision Song Contest.

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

That may not prove to be true in the long run, but the immediate fallout includes CNN’s firing Griffin from co-hosting its New Year’s Eve broadcast, a gig she’s had since 2009.

From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2017

On the Tuesday nights when the show was broadcast, crime rates fell, and attendance at movie theaters and restaurants dropped.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

The company could reset its content-spending plans, which would take time; license live-sports broadcasts; or return to mergers and acquisitions after abandoning its bid for Warner Bros.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

Energy-drink makers’ marketing strategies have involved advertising in videogame streams and college-sports broadcasts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026

"Every time I looked at him on the page, I discovered something more. He's not somebody that broadcasts his feelings. He's suppressed them for such a long time."

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

It was a statement perfectly calibrated the next day in newspapers and local news broadcasts.

From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026

The broadcasts changed after this news had been reported —or rather, they changed as soon as it had been discovered by spies that the other nest had a good store of seeds.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

It’s hard to call it media because it’s not mass broadcasted, but this is content that is being consumed.

From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2026

The Maritime & Coastguard Agency broadcasted warnings to ships in the Solent after the containers came off cargo ship the Baltic Klipper near the Nab tower lighthouse, off Bembridge.

From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025

The short film was first broadcasted on BBC One on March 24, 2017 as part of Red Nose Day.

From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2023

Footage broadcasted by the news outlet showed debris and smoke rising from the side of mountain near the town.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 2023

He, fortunately, understood English, recognized the discourse as that which Shaw had broadcasted the previous evening, realized the significance of what had happened, and sent a letter to the medical press about it.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Livestream shopping, also called social commerce, is like the old cable shopping channels, but there are millions of shows, each serving a very specific niche, broadcasting live.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

While most media operate in a laissez-faire regime, terrestrial radio and television broadcasting are licensed, and their airwave access has sometimes been deemed a privilege, not a right.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

But the company did not end up broadcasting Thursday’s event, leaving investors to glean information through scattered sources.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026

Another broadcaster within the Dutch public broadcasting system could potentially take it on as the country has several public broadcasters, unlike the UK.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

Our illegal radio, turned too low to be intelligible, was broadcasting the news.

From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles

Related Words

• advertise
• announce
• blare
• circulate
• communicate
• declare
• disseminate
• distribute
• publish
• spread