widely
AmericanEtymology
Origin of widely
Explanation
The adverb widely is good for describing something that happens over a broad area or in a big way. If it is widely believed that the stock market will crash, then you better sell, sell, sell. If the houses in your neighborhood vary widely, there is an enormous amount of difference between each house — a tiny bungalow next door to a huge mansion, for example. Likewise, when you smile widely at a cute little kid, it's a big smile. The adverb widely comes from the adjective wide, or broad, from an Old English root word, wīd, "spacious or extensive."
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.
According to Ono, the goal is to establish a more reliable, widely applicable model that scientists can use to evaluate fusion reactor designs before construction begins.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2026
Screenshots of the new policy have been widely shared and commented on across social media - with some praising it as advancing good manners or "model welfare".
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
A video widely shared on social media, which AFP could not verify, showed water falling from a pool at the top of a building of over 20 stories.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Eliot Prize-winning collection of narrative poetry “The Beauty of the Husband: A Fictional Essay in 29 Tangos”; her haunting accordion-fold elegy, “Nox”; and her widely praised translation of Sappho’s surviving fragments, “If Not, Winter.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Before her face was widely recognized at City Hall, Ann spent hours walking the halls of that building, ferreting out the confidential meetings of various boards and commissions that controlled Hayti.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
