broad
- of great breadth: The river was too broad to swim across.
- measured from side to side: The desk was three feet broad.
- of great extent; large: the broad expanse of ocean.
- widely diffused; open; full: We awoke to broad daylight.
- not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope: A modern doctor must have a broad knowledge of medicine.
- liberal; tolerant: 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.
- bold; plain-spoken.
- indelicate; indecent: He smirked at the broad joke.
- (of conversation) rough; countrified.
- unconfined; free; 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 [ah] /ɑ/ when used in lieu of the more common a-sound [a] /æ/ in such words as half, can't, and laugh.
- fully: He was broad awake.
- the broad part of anything.
- Slang.
- Usually Offensive.a term used to refer to a woman.
- a promiscuous woman.
- Often broads. Movies, Television. 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.Compare carolus, jacobus.
- broad on the beam, Nautical. bearing 90° to the heading of a vessel.
- broad on the bow, Nautical. bearing 45° to the heading of a vessel.
- broad on the quarter, Nautical. bearing 135° to the heading of a vessel.
Origin of broad
Synonyms for broad
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms for broad
Usage note
Related Words for broadest
expansive, full, generous, deep, large, immense, extensive, vast, wide, comprehensive, universal, far-reaching, sweeping, wide-ranging, clear, explicit, straightforward, radical, thick, squatExamples from the Web for broadest
Contemporary Examples of broadest
It's the broadest hint yet that Prince George may soon have a baby sibling.
It brings together the largest and broadest exhibition of contemporary Arab photographic art yet seen in the United States.
Fotofest Brings Unprecedented Collection of Arab Photographic Art to U.S.Yael Friedman
November 11, 2013
That indeed would soon metamorphose into the strongest and broadest economic expansion since World War II.
The GDP report profits the broadest barometer of economic performance.
In the broadest sense of the term, we didn't build anything.
Historical Examples of broadest
It is national in the broadest sense of the term, and primative and forcible to intensity.
RidgewayScian Dubh
Its longest exponent is Comte, its broadest Mill and its thickest Spencer.
The Devil's DictionaryAmbrose Bierce
He prided himself on being able to speak the broadest of the dialect.
Heather and SnowGeorge MacDonald
They were, one and all, from the broadest and best to the narrowest and least frequented, very dark.
Barnaby RudgeCharles Dickens
There, on one of the broadest tombstones she saw sitting a circle of lamias.
broad
- having relatively great breadth or width
- of vast extent; spaciousa broad plain
- (postpositive) from one side to the otherfour miles broad
- of great scope or potentialthat invention had broad applications
- not detailed; generalbroad plans
- clear and open; full (esp in the phrase broad daylight)
- obvious or plainbroad hints
- liberal; toleranta broad political stance
- widely spread; extensivebroad support
- outspoken or bolda broad manner
- vulgar; coarse; indecenta broad joke
- unrestrained; freebroad laughter
- (of a dialect or pronunciation) consisting of a large number of speech sounds characteristic of a particular geographical areaa 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 certificatesbroad money Compare narrow (def. 7)
- phonetics
- of or relating to a type of pronunciation transcription in which symbols correspond approximately to phonemes without taking account of allophonic variations
- broad athe long vowel in English words such as father, half, as represented in the received pronunciation of Southern British English
- as broad as it is long amounting to the same thing; without advantage either way
- the broad part of something
- slang, mainly US and Canadian
- a girl or woman
- a prostitute
- British dialect a river spreading over a lowlandSee also Broads
- East Anglian dialect a shallow lake
- a wood-turning tool used for shaping the insides and bottoms of cylinders
- widely or fullybroad awake
Word Origin for broad
Word Origin and History for broadest
broad
Old English brad "broad, flat, open, extended," from Proto-Germanic *braithaz (cf. Old Frisian bred, Old Norse breiðr, Dutch breed, German breit, Gothic brouþs), of unknown origin. Not found outside Germanic languages. No clear distinction in sense from wide. Related: Broadly. Broad-brim as a style of hat (1680s, broad-brimmed) in 18c.-19c. suggested "Quaker male" from their characteristic attire.
broad
"woman," slang, 1911, perhaps suggestive of broad (adj.) hips, but it also might trace to American English abroadwife, word for a woman (often a slave) away from her husband. Earliest use of the slang word suggests immorality or coarse, low-class women. Because of this negative association, and the rise of women's athletics, the track and field broad jump was changed to the long jump c.1967.
Idioms and Phrases with broadest
broad
In addition to the idioms beginning with broad
- broad daylight
- broad in the beam
- broad shoulders, have
also see:
- can't hit the broad side of a barn