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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 business outlook survey index - a broad gauge of how firms feel about their prospects - hit -3.51, the lowest since the -6.16 seen in the second quarter of 2020.

From Reuters ● Oct. 16, 2023

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

Its purchasing managers’ index - a broad gauge of business activity - rose to 54.4 in June from 53.6 the previous month.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 3, 2015

Growing out of the broad gauge movement, to some extent, two or three narrow gauge enterprises have been organized.

From Scientific American, Vol. XLIII.?No. 1. [New Series.], July 3, 1880 A Weekly Journal Of Practical Information, Art, Science, Mechanics, Chemistry, And Manufactures by Various

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

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

For a broad-gauge company, MaxMara has been far more adventurous in recent seasons than maybe has been acknowledged.

From New York Times ● Sep. 21, 2012

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

From Salon ● Mar. 12, 2011

Finally, while the men carefully checked the prime on their broad-gauge hunting muskets, le Basque struck a flint to the pyre.

From Caribbee by Hoover, Thomas