broad
adjective
of great breadth.
broad
1 American
[brawd]
/ brɔd /
adjective
-
broader,
comparative
-
broadest
superlative
-
of great breadth.
The river was too broad to swim across.
- Antonyms:
- narrow
-
measured from side to side.
The desk was three feet broad.
-
of great extent; large.
the broad expanse of ocean.
-
We awoke to broad daylight.
-
not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope.
A modern doctor must have a broad knowledge of medicine.
-
A broad interpretation of the law tempers justice with mercy.
-
main or general.
the broad outlines of a subject.
-
plain or clear.
Her remark was a broad hint of her feelings.
-
He smirked at the broad joke.
- Synonyms:
- gross
-
(of conversation) rough; countrified.
-
unconfined; unbridled; unrestrained;
It was a hilarious evening of broad mirth.
-
(of pronunciation) strongly dialectal.
He wore kilts and had a broad Scots accent.
-
Phonetics. (of a transcription) using one basic symbol to represent each phoneme.
-
broad a, the a- sound when used in lieu of the more common a- sound in such words as half, can't, and laugh.
adverb
noun
-
broads
plural
-
the broad part of anything.
-
Slang.
-
Usually Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman.
-
a promiscuous woman.
-
-
Movies, Television. Often broads. an incandescent or fluorescent lamp used as a general source of light in a studio.
-
a gold coin of England and Scotland, issued by James I and Charles I and equal to 20 shillings.
idioms
-
broad on the quarter, bearing 135° to the heading of a vessel.
-
broad on the bow, bearing 45° to the heading of a vessel.
-
broad on the beam, bearing 90° to the heading of a vessel.
Broad
2
American
[brawd]
/ brɔd /
noun
broad
British
/ brɔːd /
adjective
-
having relatively great breadth or width
-
of vast extent; spacious
a broad plain
-
(postpositive) from one side to the other
four miles broad
-
of great scope or potential
that invention had broad applications
-
not detailed; general
broad plans
-
clear and open; full (esp in the phrase broad daylight )
-
obvious or plain
broad hints
-
liberal; tolerant
a broad political stance
-
widely spread; extensive
broad support
-
outspoken or bold
a broad manner
-
vulgar; coarse; indecent
a broad joke
-
unrestrained; free
broad laughter
-
(of a dialect or pronunciation) consisting of a large number of speech sounds characteristic of a particular geographical area
a broad Yorkshire accent
-
finance denoting an assessment of liquidity as including notes and coin in circulation with the public, banks' till money and balances, most private-sector bank deposits, and sterling bank-deposit certificates Compare narrow
broad money
-
phonetics
-
of or relating to a type of pronunciation transcription in which symbols correspond approximately to phonemes without taking account of allophonic variations
-
the long vowel in English words such as father , half , as represented in the received pronunciation of Southern British English
-
-
amounting to the same thing; without advantage either way
noun
-
the broad part of something
-
slang
-
a girl or woman
-
a prostitute
-
-
dialect a river spreading over a lowland See also Broads
-
dialect a shallow lake
-
a wood-turning tool used for shaping the insides and bottoms of cylinders
adverb
broad
More Idioms
Sensitive Note
When used to refer to a woman, broad is usually perceived as insulting. The meaning “promiscuous woman” is probably the earlier sense.
Synonym Usage
See wide.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of broad
First recorded before 1000; Middle English bro(a)d, Old English brād; cognate with Dutch breed, German breit, Old Norse breithr, Gothic braiths
Explanation
The adjective broad boasts an extensive — you might even say broad — array of subtly different meanings including wide, spacious, far-reaching, vague, and unsubtle. It's kind of funny that the word broad can communicate such an expansive range of ideas since expansive is, in fact, a synonym for broad. This adjective can be used to describe actual physical spaces. A broad highway, for example, would be difficult to cross because of all the cars in the many lanes of the road. The word can also be used more figuratively. American history covers a broad range of topics and events. A broad-minded person is open to new ideas, while broad humor aims for a mass audience with obvious gags and stunts.
Vocabulary lists containing broad
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The Star Spangled Banner
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
See Examples For:
The range and scope of ongoing litigation show how anger at Meta and other social media companies over their products’ effects on kids has spilled into broad bipartisan agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
And then in Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion in the Lisa Cook case, he kind of embraced those in broad form and turned them into the law.
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
Furthermore, federal courts have typically given the president broad discretion in implementing the statute.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
The dollar has been relatively stable in 2026, its broad index against other major currencies having risen 1.6% so far this year.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
After all, Mudd and Booth had met on several occasions, in broad daylight, and Booth had slept at Mudd’s farm in the past.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Broad approach: An active fund holding a whopping 800 stocks is beating major indexes.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
British-Nepali climber Nirmal Purja, who led the Broad Peak expedition, was best known for speed climbing the "14 peaks"
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Purja, 43, also known as Nims, was the leading figure of the 10-member international team up Broad Peak, the world's 12th highest mountain, when the avalanche struck.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The avalanche struck on Thursday, cutting off contact with the international expedition led by Purja, a 43-year-old British-Nepali climber, on Broad Peak.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
Broad valleys were completely deforested and dotted with villages, and drained and fenced fields for intensive food production covered entire valley floors.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
There are three broads areas of concern the players want addressing:
From BBC ● Jan. 16, 2026
“Us old broads are trying to learn the new technology because, I mean, we’re kind of trapped,” said Linda Harner, whom I met at the Culver City Senior Center, where she takes a Spanish class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2022
This is a workout for ladies, by which she means older broads who might appreciate the occasional low-impact leg lifts.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 9, 2019
“I think they just bonded over overcoming their experiences, and being great broads, and being tremendous mothers,” she explained.
From Fox News ● Nov. 30, 2018
In England the sport of coot-shooting is pursued to some extent on the broads and back-waters of the eastern counties—in Southampton Water and Christchurch Bay—and is often conducted battue-fashion by a number of guns.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 3 "Convention" to "Copyright" by Various
The broader effects of compound 10 suggest that interfering with GRK2 aggregation may influence more than Alzheimer's related processes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 17, 2026
He’ll also casually ask questions to HBO and DC reps in the room mid-interview that can’t be repeated here because of the implications to the broader franchise.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
The billionaire investor’s portfolio has trailed the broader market since he took the fund, Pershing Square USA, and his firm public in April.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Federal data hints at a broader slowdown in what had been HSI’s most urgent work.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
His face was broader and flatter, with sunken eyes and tusks the size of bananas protruding from his mouth.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
In his speech, András Baka promised the broadest possible debate on the creation of a new constitution.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
The broadest category of high-tech employment, including software development and computer design, totaled 2.37 million jobs in May.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 5, 2026
Well, okay: In the absolute broadest possible sense, the photos are about her kids growing up.
From Salon ● Jun. 4, 2026
Start with the broadest measure of growth, inflation-adjusted GDP.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
One of them, a very short older man with the squarest, broadest face of orange-brown I’d ever seen, said something to them and they all began leaving.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
