broaden
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
broadens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
broadened,
past participle, past
-
broadening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
broadensimple
-
broadenssimple
-
have broadenedperfect
-
has broadenedperfect
-
am broadeningprogressive
-
are broadeningprogressive
-
is broadeningprogressive
-
have been broadeningperfect progressive
-
has been broadeningperfect progressive
Past
-
broadenedsimple
-
had broadenedperfect
-
was broadeningprogressive
-
were broadeningprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
Hobson, an established collector in her own right, helped broaden the collection’s representation of Black artists.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The armed forces charity said it was to reflect the arboretum's full integration with RBL and broaden public engagement.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
"An oral pill that targets the underlying neuromuscular drivers of airway collapse during sleep could help address this gap and broaden the range of effective options for patients who remain untreated today."
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
As part of plans to reduce its reliance on the core obesity and diabetes franchises, the company is working to broaden its drug offering to include more treatments for related diseases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
With enemy forces advancing, the Joint Chiefs requested permission to broaden the mission from merely guarding the base to engaging in what was described as “limited offensive operations.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
“Customer demand is accelerating as enterprise adoption broadens and we continue to deepen our technology platform.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
"For JioStar, tennis broadens the engagement calendar, attracts affluent urban audiences and diversifies advertiser categories beyond cricket," says Bhalla.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
But if the weakness broadens or geopolitical risks intensify, policymakers could be spurred into action.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Chatrie broadens the constitutional problem considerably because geofence warrants are built around collective searching.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
It was about nine in the morning when Mammachi and Baby Kochamma got news of a white child’s body found floating downriver where the Meenachal broadens as it approaches the backwaters.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
California has broadened the list of racial and ethnic categories people can select in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
"We have broadened the potential application of these materials," Singh said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026
TOKYO—Japan’s consumer inflation picked up last month as the effects of higher oil prices caused by the Middle East conflict broadened.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
“Participation in the equity market has broadened significantly,” he noted.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026
As in so many other fields, the study of attention broadened and deepened as the twentieth century sped along.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Across the infrastructure field, “constraints are broadening rather than easing,” Daryanani said, and he expects that dynamic to get worse in 2027.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
The thing about “Coat of Many Colors,” though, is that it doesn’t end with the narrator broadening her schoolmates’ minds or even with her shaming them for their cruelty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Madison Air Chief Executive Jill Wyant said the deal will also nearly double the company’s addressable market, while broadening its aftermarket and services opportunity, and further strengthening its long-term growth profile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Another aspect of the broadening market performance has been that stocks outside the U.S. have outperformed.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Why don’t you open your own business? I’ll advance you the money,” I said, fascinated at the idea of broadening my commercial interests in that direction.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
