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• broad gauge
  broad gauge

  noun

  gauge15
• broad-gauge
  broad-gauge

  adjective

  of or relating to equipment designed for a railroad having track of a broad gauge.

broad gauge

¹ American  

especially in technical use, broad gage

noun

Railroads.

1. gauge15

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broad-gauge ² American  

[brawd-geyj] / ˈbrɔdˌgeɪdʒ /

Or broad-gauged

adjective

1. Railroads. of or relating to equipment designed for a railroad having track of a broad gauge.

   broad-gauge rolling stock.

2. of wide scope, application, or experience.

   broad-gauge efforts to improve the health of our citizens.

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broad gauge British  

noun

1. a railway track with a greater distance between the lines than the standard gauge of 56 1/ 2 inches (about 1.44 metres) used now by most mainline railway systems

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting a railway having this track

Etymology

Origin of broad gauge¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Origin of broad-gauge²

1835–45, for an earlier sense

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

broad gauge broad-gauge

The Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing index, a broad gauge of manufacturing activity, has been above the threshold for manufacturing-sector expansion for seven straight months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026

The first logistical nightmare is shifting wagons or their loads from broad gauge tracks - 1,524mm wide, in use in the former Soviet Union - to narrower European gauge - 1,432mm wide.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2022

MSCI’s broad gauge of regional markets outside Japan fell more than 2% to its lowest level since November 2020.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 27, 2022

The GSIA, whose member bodies track growth in their region, said professionally managed assets, using a broad gauge of what it means to invest sustainably, account for 36% of total assets under management.

From Reuters ● Jul. 18, 2021

Before the war, Syria had been connected with Asia Minor by a broad gauge line from Aleppo to Rayak, where it effected a junction with a narrow gauge line from Beyrout to Damascus.

From With the British Army in The Holy Land by H. O. (Henry Osmond) Lock

Galati is connected by the broad-gauge railway that’s compatible with the Ukrainian system and may facilitate the quicker rerouting of grains.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2022

The issue is that cargoes from Ukraine’s broad-gauge wagons need to be reloaded onto standard Europe size ones or the container section transferred onto different wheels.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 5, 2022

That book, published two years ago, covers similar terrain from a more broad-gauge perspective.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2020

That is sort of the broad-gauge intelligence gathering that many people are very worried about.

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2011

"The A 1 double-action, back-spring, copper-fastened, broad-gauge telegraph line from here to the moon!"

From What Might Have Been Expected by Frank Richard Stockton