widen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of widen
Explanation
When you made something broader or more open, you widen it. In order to add bike lanes on your street, the city may need to widen it. Your friend's smile will undoubtedly widen when you hand him a chocolate cupcake — in other words, what starts as a grin gets bigger and wider. A scholar who widens her area of expertise adds subjects to her research, and your dinner options widen when two great new restaurants open in your town.
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.
That gap is projected to widen to 17 times by 2027.
From MarketWatch • May 14, 2026
As the channels deepen and widen, parts of the ice shelf may thin unevenly, reducing the shelf's overall structural stability.
From Science Daily • May 10, 2026
The arrangement of dreams and actuality is frustratingly haphazard, more like a pretext to widen the novel’s scope.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026
The sharp swings in the oil price that has been seen since the Iran war began can widen the gap between buying and selling prices.
From BBC • May 7, 2026
And as the U-boat inched closer to their landing spot, the rift continued to widen.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
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.
