broaden
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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broadensimple
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broadenssimple
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have broadenedperfect
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has broadenedperfect
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am broadeningprogressive
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are broadeningprogressive
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is broadeningprogressive
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have been broadeningperfect progressive
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has been broadeningperfect progressive
Past
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broadenedsimple
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had broadenedperfect
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was broadeningprogressive
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were broadeningprogressive
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had been broadeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of broaden
Explanation
To broaden something is to make it wider or more expansive. If you wake up feeling less than cheerful, the sight of the doughnuts your dad got for breakfast might broaden your smile. Something can broaden literally, like a river that broadens as you hike beside it, growing wider as it flows south. Things also broaden figuratively, the way people's minds tend to broaden when they travel around the world and meet people from different cultures. In both cases, things that broaden expand and become more open.
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.
Still, the U.S. listing “should broaden the shareholder base and potentially make the stock even more central to how global investors trade semis,” he added.
From MarketWatch • Jul. 9, 2026
That, after all, is the point of the rule, to broaden access to “the potential growth and diversification opportunities associated with alternative asset investments,” as Trump’s executive order put it.
From Salon • Jul. 9, 2026
In order to lift the mid-June ban, the U.S. pushed Anthropic to broaden the company’s guardrails limiting the model’s ability to respond to harmful requests such as writing malware.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
Their simultaneous offerings could help draw global capital, as these companies "broaden the investable universe" and provide foreign money with opportunities to invest in sectors that are central to India's growth story going ahead.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2026
“Some of the most insidious tricks employed tonight will involve artifice and illusion. Without the milk you could be even more susceptible. It would only broaden their ability to mask their true appearance.”
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
