broadcast

American  

[brawd-kast, -kahst] / ˈbrɔdˌkæst, -ˌkɑst /

verb (used with object)

• broadcasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• broadcast,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasted,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasting
  present participle

1. to transmit (programs) from a radio or television station.

2. to speak, perform, sponsor, or present on a radio or television program.

   The president will broadcast his message on all stations tonight.

3. to cast or scatter abroad over an area, as seed in sowing.

4. to spread widely; disseminate.

   She broadcast the good news all over town.

5. to indicate unwittingly to another (one's next action); telegraph.

   He broadcast his punch and the other man was able to parry it.

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verb (used without object)

• broadcasts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• broadcast,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasted,
  past participle,  past
• broadcasting
  present participle

1. to transmit programs or signals from a radio or television station.

2. to make something known widely; disseminate something.

3. 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

• broadcasts
  plural

1. something that is broadcast.

2. a single radio or television program.

3. the broadcasting of radio or television messages, speeches, etc.

4. a single period of broadcasting

5. a method of sowing by scattering seed.

adjective

1. (of programs) transmitted from a radio or television station.

2. of or relating to broadcasting.

3. cast abroad or all over an area, as seed scattered widely.

adverb

1. so as to reach the greatest number of people by radio or television.

   The vital news was sent broadcast to inform the entire nation.

2. so as to be cast abroad over an area.

   seed sown broadcast.

broadcast British  

/ ˈbrɔːdˌkɑːst /

verb

1. to transmit (announcements or programmes) on radio or television

2. (intr) to take part in a radio or television programme

3. (tr) to make widely known throughout an area

   to broadcast news

4. (tr) to scatter (seed, etc) over an area, esp by hand

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noun

1. 1. a transmission or programme on radio or television

   2. ( as modifier )

      a broadcast signal

2. 1. the act of scattering seeds

   2. ( as modifier )

      the broadcast method of sowing

adjective

1. dispersed over a wide area

   broadcast seeds

adverb

1. far and wide

   seeds to be sown broadcast

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

• broadcaster
  noun
• broadcasting
  noun
• unbroadcasted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• broadcasts
  plural

Participles

• broadcasting
  present
• broadcast
  past
• broadcasted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• broadcast
  simple
• broadcasts
  simple
• have broadcast
  perfect
• have broadcasted
  perfect
• has broadcast
  perfect
• has broadcasted
  perfect
• am broadcasting
  progressive
• are broadcasting
  progressive
• is broadcasting
  progressive
• have been broadcasting
  perfect progressive
• has been broadcasting
  perfect progressive

Past

• broadcast
  simple
• broadcasted
  simple
• had broadcast
  perfect
• had broadcasted
  perfect
• was broadcasting
  progressive
• were broadcasting
  progressive
• had been broadcasting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will broadcast
  simple
• will have broadcast
  perfect
• will have broadcasted
  perfect
• will be broadcasting
  progressive
• will have been broadcasting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of broadcast

First recorded in 1760–70; originally, broad (adverb) + cast, past participle of cast ( def. )

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

broadcast broadcasts broadcasted broadcasting

When NBC’s production team came to meet with Lincoln Riley, ahead of a broadcast earlier this month, the USC football coach greeted the group like old friends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

That question will no doubt come up on the broadcast this week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

The contest was the first world title fight to be broadcast live on TikTok, generating 3.4m views.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Late Monday, dozens of people, including the mother of a Novi Sad disaster victim, stormed Informer's premises and disrupted its broadcast.

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026

This letter would be broadcast on Radio Moscow.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Channel Nine, which broadcasts Married at First Sight Australia, confirmed that it was "aware of a police investigation" involving the show's production company.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

Citing South Korea's firing of warning shots, broadcasts from propaganda loudspeakers and what she called a "mine explosion farce", Kim said the incidents had "gone beyond the red line".

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

Trautman found that the military’s efforts to provide enrichment and entertainment to soldiers and sailors put an emphasis on “movies, post exchanges, radio broadcasts, athletics, and dramatics.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

They press vinyl to sell at shows, and it gets into the hands of disc jockeys at ever-larger radio stations with an increasing number of watts behind their broadcasts.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

Upstairs Etienne broadcasts again and she thinks: I should station myself by the front door in case they come.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

The BBC broadcasted all England's games and the final, with the Sweden fixture peaking at three million viewers.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

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 short film was first broadcasted on BBC One on March 24, 2017 as part of Red Nose Day.

From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2023

Footage broadcasted by the news outlet showed debris and smoke rising from the side of mountain near the town.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 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

Suddenly the surest path to growing market share for a local station was no longer hiring the most popular news anchors or broadcasting the local college’s sporting events, but securing “Seinfeld” rights.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

Rather than broadcasting one general message, it delivers signals to specific destinations, with different groups of neurons responding to different experiences.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

Watt’s invitation to demonstrate the Peanut punch while they were broadcasting Sunday’s Bills-Raiders game — “and as soon as I did it, I regretted it,” he told Pat McAfee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2026

BBC Scotland launched as a channel in 2019, broadcasting a variety of Scottish programming including news, sport, documentaries and entertainment.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

Artemis activated the tri-band radio, broadcasting on revolving frequencies.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

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