wide

[wahyd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wide ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, wid·er, wid·est.

having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad: a wide boulevard.

having a certain or specified extent from side to side: three feet wide.

of great horizontal extent; extensive; vast; spacious: the wide plains of the West.

of great range or scope; embracing a great number or variety of subjects, cases, etc.: wide experience.

open to the full or a great extent; expanded; distended: to stare with wide eyes.

apart or remote from a specified point or object: a guess wide of the truth.

too far or too much to one side: a shot wide of the mark.

Baseball. outside(def 16): The pitch was wide of the plate.

full, ample, or roomy, as clothing: He wore wide, flowing robes.

Phonetics. lax(def 7).

British Slang. shrewd; wary.

adverb

to the full extent of opening: Open your mouth wide.

to the utmost, or fully: to be wide awake.

away from or to one side of a point, mark, purpose, or the like; aside; astray: The shot went wide.

over an extensive space or region, or far abroad: scattered far and wide.

to a great, or relatively great, extent from side to side: The river runs wide here.

noun

Cricket. a bowled ball that goes wide of the wicket, and counts as a run for the side batting.

Archaic. a wide space or expanse.

Origin of wide

before 900; Middle English; Old English wīd; cognate with Dutch wijd, German weit, Old Norse vīthr

Related formswide·ness, nouno·ver·wide, adjectiveo·ver·wide·ly, adverbo·ver·wide·ness, nounsu·per·wide, adjectiveul·tra·wide, adjective

Synonyms for wide

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR wide ON THESAURUS.COM

1. Wide, broad refer to dimensions. They are often interchangeable, but wide especially applies to things of which the length is much greater than the width: a wide road, piece of ribbon. Broad is more emphatic, and applies to things of considerable or great width, breadth, or extent, especially to surfaces extending laterally: a broad valley. 3. boundless; comprehensive; ample.

Antonyms for wide

1. narrow.

-wide

a combining form of wide, forming from nouns adjectives with the general sense “extending or applying throughout a given space,” as specified by the noun: communitywide; countrywide; worldwide.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for wide

full, ample, broad, loose, deep, far-reaching, large, immense, spacious, extensive, vast, expanded, far, remote, away, off, astray, advanced, all-inclusive, baggy

Examples from the Web for wide

Contemporary Examples of wide

The email appears to have been a relatively common attempt to gain personal information from a wide range of unwitting victims.
Was Sony Hit With a Second Hack?
Shane Harris
January 8, 2015
An escort who goes by the name of “Tommy” has experienced a wide variety of female clients.
Career-Minded Women Turn to Male Escorts For No-Strings Fun and (Maybe) Sex
Aurora Snow
January 3, 2015
But instead of just quietly releasing a statement through a publicist, she broadcasted her anger far and wide.
Jennifer Lawrence’s Righteous Fury Says Everything We Wanted to Say
Kevin O’Keeffe
December 29, 2014
It had a wide brim and a tall crown, which created an insulated pocket of air and could also be used to carry water.
My Love Letter to the Stetson
Mark McKinnon
December 24, 2014
The party sequence in Notorious begins with a wide shot from high above the top of the stairs, all glittering expanse below.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days
David Freeman
December 13, 2014

Historical Examples of wide

She threw herself on the wide divan, and he fixed pillows under her head.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
There was now but "one wide river to cross," and the cars rolled on to the bridge.
Harriet, The Moses of Her People
Sarah H. Bradford
From far and wide, wild people flocked to the banks of the river.
Ancient Man
Hendrik Willem van Loon
The ranges are wide enough, but they're a prison just the same.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
Mary Reynolds' eyes were wide with surprise and sudden hope.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower

British Dictionary definitions for wide

wide

adjective

having a great extent from side to side

of vast size or scope; spacious or extensive

(postpositive)having a specified extent, esp from side to sidetwo yards wide
(in combination)covering or extending throughoutnationwide

distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etcyour guess is wide of the mark

(of eyes) opened fully

loose, full, or roomywide trousers

exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limitsa wide variation

phonetics another word for lax (def. 4), open (def. 34)

adverb

over an extensive areato travel far and wide

to the full extenthe opened the door wide

far from the desired point, mark, etc

noun

(in cricket) a bowled ball that is outside the batsman's reach and scores a run for the batting side

archaic, or poetic a wide space or extent

to the wide completely

Derived Formswidely, adverbwideness, nounwidish, adjective

Word Origin for wide

Old English wīd; related to Old Norse vīthr, Old High German wīt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for wide

adj.

Old English wid, from Proto-Germanic *widas (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian wid, Old Norse viðr, Dutch wijd, Old High German wit, German weit), perhaps from PIE *wi-ito-, from root *wi- "apart, away." Wide open "unguarded, exposed to attack" (1915) originally was in boxing, etc. Wide awake (adj.) is first recorded 1818; figurative sense of "alert, knowing" is attested from 1833.

Idioms and Phrases with wide

wide

In addition to the idioms beginning with wide

wide awake
wide open

also see:

all wool and a yard wide
cut a wide swath
far and wide
give a wide berth to
lay (oneself wide) open
leave (wide) open
off (wide of) the mark