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:
Mastro, who served as a deputy mayor under former Mayor Eric Adams, said that in its attempt to identify the luxury pieds-à-terre in the city, the Department of Finance cast too wide a net.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
In March 2022, a rocket slammed into the moon, creating a double crater about 95 feet wide.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
The analysis accounted for a wide range of factors that could influence the results.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026
The claims, for which Homeland Security spent $96 million, show detainees were treated for a wide variety of conditions, including strokes, pregnancy, suicide attempts and frostbite.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The bed was pushed up against the far wall, and the end was right under a window that was open wide.
From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott
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
However, GPs and doctors in the wider NHS are more sceptical, with NHS England warning that the popularity of these scans is leading to more "over-diagnosis, unnecessary investigations and avoidable anxiety".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
Although the study centered on autism spectrum disorder, the approach could have wider applications.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
The video-game company recorded higher sales and a wider loss in its fiscal first quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The group will also work to lean more on its wider portfolio, while continuing its agenda of premiumization, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Again and again he declared, “We seek no wider war.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
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
It also has the widest geographic presence with facilities in half of all Indian states and union territories.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Profit beat expectations by the widest margin in five years.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
“It’s a cyclical roll that gets set up when a boat is taking even a 4-foot wave cyclically over and over on the beam,” Elfers said, referring to the widest point of a boat’s hull.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
Seven feet wide at the widest and maybe twenty feet long inside, if you counted the storage space under the cockpit.
From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen
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.
