wide
adjective
having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad.
wide
1 American
[wahyd]
/ waɪd /
adjective
-
wider,
comparative
-
widest
superlative
-
having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad.
a wide boulevard.
- Antonyms:
- narrow
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- ample, comprehensive, boundless
-
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.
The pitch was wide of the plate.
-
full, ample, or roomy, as clothing.
He wore wide, flowing robes.
-
Phonetics. lax.
-
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.
-wide
2
American
wide
British
/ waɪd /
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 side
two yards wide
-
(in combination) covering or extending throughout
nationwide
-
-
distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etc
your guess is wide of the mark
-
(of eyes) opened fully
-
loose, full, or roomy
wide trousers
-
exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limits
a wide variation
adverb
-
over an extensive area
to travel far and wide
-
to the full extent
he 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 a wide space or extent
-
completely
wide
Idioms
Usage
What does -wide mean? The combining form -wide is used like a suffix meaning “wide,” in the sense of "throughout" or "in or to every part of." It is occasionally used in everyday and technical terms. The form -wide comes from Old English wīd, meaning “wide.”
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
overwidenessnoun
-
widenessnoun
-
overwideadjective
-
superwideadjective
-
ultrawideadjective
-
widishadjective
-
overwidelyadverb
-
widelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of wide
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wīd; cognate with Dutch wijd, German weit, Old Norse vīthr
Explanation
The word wide describes something that stretches across a great distance, like a smile that beams from ear to ear, or the open arms of a friend about to give you a big hug. Wide is an adjective that describes both physical spaces and ideas. A hallway with plenty of room for everyone to walk through can be called wide. If a dinner party has lots of different foods to pick from, you could say there’s a wide selection of dishes. A situation with many possible outcomes might have a wide range of results. Whether it's about space or variety, the word wide is all about having plenty of room.
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:
The Brunel Centre was once a thriving retail destination, attracting shoppers from far and wide.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Alito gave a long interview to CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford, addressing a wide range of issues.
From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026
It wasn’t just that “le spread” was historically wide.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Rams coach Sean McVay says wide receiver Puka Nacua will play Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, but defensive tackle Aaron Donald will not play.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
He steadied himself on the walls on either side, huffing and puffing and quite worried he was going to blow the house down, when, at last, the stairs flattened into a wide room.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Trail mix: Grab your plastic bib and wooden mallet for the miles-long and -wide sealife buffet.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 4, 2019
The foot-tall and -wide tender perennial from South Africa had attractive purplish buds, but the narrow green leaves were slightly weedy-looking.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2017
The wider industry generated £202m for the Scottish economy.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
Wednesday’s incident comes as the wider Emirati economy is already under pressure this year, with the war disrupting oil exports and depressing tourism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
"There is fear that it could turn into a wider regional conflict," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
A spokesperson for Polymarket said that wider participation in prediction markets “deepens liquidity, sharpens price discovery and produces more accurate forecasts” that benefit everyone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
The wooden beam leads to a much wider tunnel.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
The 10-year French OAT-German Bund yield spread widened above 110 bps lately, its widest since 2012.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Art of this sort depends on bold forms and vivid, legible storytelling, so as to make its meaning accessible to the widest possible audience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
It's a gap of 5.8 percentage points this year, down from 6.2 last year and 9.5 in 2017, when it was at its widest this century.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
This marks the planet's widest visible separation from the Sun during its current appearance in the evening sky.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 5, 2026
You bite into it at its widest point, because it’s easier to grasp with your teeth.
From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
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.
