broadcast
Americanverb (used with object)
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broadcasts,
present (3rd person singular)
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broadcast,
past participle, past
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broadcasted,
past participle, past
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broadcasting
present participle
-
to transmit (programs) from a radio or television station.
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to speak, perform, sponsor, or present on a radio or television program.
The president will broadcast his message on all stations tonight.
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to cast or scatter abroad over an area, as seed in sowing.
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to spread widely; disseminate.
She broadcast the good news all over town.
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to indicate unwittingly to another (one's next action); telegraph.
He broadcast his punch and the other man was able to parry it.
verb (used without object)
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broadcasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
broadcast,
past participle, past
-
broadcasted,
past participle, past
-
broadcasting
present participle
-
to transmit programs or signals from a radio or television station.
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to make something known widely; disseminate something.
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to speak, perform, sponsor, or present all or part of a radio or television program.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts every Saturday on our local station.
noun
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broadcasts
plural
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something that is broadcast.
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a single radio or television program.
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the broadcasting of radio or television messages, speeches, etc.
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a single period of broadcasting
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a method of sowing by scattering seed.
adjective
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(of programs) transmitted from a radio or television station.
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of or relating to broadcasting.
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cast abroad or all over an area, as seed scattered widely.
adverb
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so as to reach the greatest number of people by radio or television.
The vital news was sent broadcast to inform the entire nation.
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so as to be cast abroad over an area.
seed sown broadcast.
verb
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to transmit (announcements or programmes) on radio or television
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(intr) to take part in a radio or television programme
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(tr) to make widely known throughout an area
to broadcast news
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(tr) to scatter (seed, etc) over an area, esp by hand
noun
-
-
a transmission or programme on radio or television
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( as modifier )
a broadcast signal
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-
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the act of scattering seeds
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( as modifier )
the broadcast method of sowing
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adjective
adverb
Usage
What does broadcast mean? Broadcast means to transmit a television or radio program, as in The network broadcasted cartoons every Saturday morning. In this sense a broadcast can be a single TV or radio program, as in the 6 o’clock news broadcast. Broadcast also means to deliver a message on a transmitted program, as in The police broadcasted the press release on the evening news. More generally, broadcast means to spread something widely, as in She broadcasted her recent wedding engagement to all of her family members. Related to this sense, a broadcast can be news or something similar that you share widely, like your broadcast to your classmates about the A you got on the test. Broadcast also means to mistakenly make a next move obvious, as in The boxer broadcasted his punch with a flashy windup. Example: Coverage of the awards ceremony was the leading story on every news broadcast.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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broadcastsimple
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broadcastssimple
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have broadcastperfect
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have broadcastedperfect
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has broadcastperfect
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has broadcastedperfect
-
am broadcastingprogressive
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are broadcastingprogressive
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is broadcastingprogressive
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have been broadcastingperfect progressive
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has been broadcastingperfect progressive
Past
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broadcastsimple
-
broadcastedsimple
-
had broadcastperfect
-
had broadcastedperfect
-
was broadcastingprogressive
-
were broadcastingprogressive
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had been broadcastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of broadcast
First recorded in 1760–70; originally, broad (adverb) + cast, past participle of cast ( def. )
Explanation
To broadcast is to air a program, especially on TV or radio. It also means to tell people about something. If you paint your one true love’s name on your car, you broadcast your feelings to the whole world! The word broadcast used to have to do with spreading seed, but now it refers to spreading information. It can be a noun or verb — if you turn on the radio, you're hearing a broadcast, and the station is broadcasting that show. You don’t have to be in a studio to broadcast, though. Any time you let a lot of people know about something (whether they like it or not), you broadcast. When information is broadcast, it becomes widely known.
Vocabulary lists containing broadcast
Dirty Words: The Language of Gardening
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Journalism
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Academy Awards, List 2
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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:
A move to streaming means the Emmy Awards would lose the support the ceremony gets from the network that carries the broadcast.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
The 57-year-old justice was present for the plenary session which was being broadcast live on television and YouTube.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
The bench matters in the broadcast booth, too: J.J.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
The NFL is also driving up the price on their biggest platforms—the broadcast networks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
After Pita settled down and stopped crying, we were all able to concentrate on the rest of the news broadcast.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
Energy-drink makers’ marketing strategies have involved advertising in videogame streams and college-sports broadcasts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Rescuers have widened their search area, Cayabyab says, adding that the coastguard has deployed one of its largest ships and done radio broadcasts to vessels in the area.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
It was a statement perfectly calibrated the next day in newspapers and local news broadcasts.
From Slate ● Sep. 10, 2026
Smiley, who broadcasts from Crenshaw, credits the project’s progress to residents making their voices heard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
President Johnson watches all three nightly news broadcasts at the same time in the Oval Office, 1967.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
It’s hard to call it media because it’s not mass broadcasted, but this is content that is being consumed.
From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2026
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency broadcasted warnings to ships in the Solent after the containers came off cargo ship the Baltic Klipper near the Nab tower lighthouse, off Bembridge.
From BBC ● Dec. 8, 2025
The short film was first broadcasted on BBC One on March 24, 2017 as part of Red Nose Day.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2023
The Kraken’s regular-season opener and finale are set to air on ESPN, part of 13 nationally broadcasted games.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 30, 2023
He, fortunately, understood English, recognized the discourse as that which Shaw had broadcasted the previous evening, realized the significance of what had happened, and sent a letter to the medical press about it.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
Barry Melrose, who led the Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Final before a long career in broadcasting, has died.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026
But the company did not end up broadcasting Thursday’s event, leaving investors to glean information through scattered sources.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
Livestream shopping, also called social commerce, is like the old cable shopping channels, but there are millions of shows, each serving a very specific niche, broadcasting live.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
With extended family who dominate Venezuelan industries from beer to television broadcasting, the Cisneroses have long been the country’s most prominent business dynasty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Judy chattered on about the classes they had started broadcasting on TV for all the high school students.
From "The Lions of Little Rock" by Kristin Levine
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.
