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broad-gauge

1 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.


broad gauge 2 American  
especially in technical use, broad gage

noun

Railroads.
  1. gauge15


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

"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

adjective

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of broad-gauge1

1835–45, for an earlier sense

Origin of broad gauge1

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

The broad gauges of inflation have been running at the highest rates in decades.

From New York Times

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

Annual growth in outstanding total social financing, a broad gauge of credit that includes off-balance sheet financing, slowed to 10.1 percent in August, the lowest on record.

From Reuters

Beginning in the early 1990s, they were gradually converted from a meter gauge system to broad gauge, which allows for bigger, faster, and more trains.

From National Geographic