widen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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widens,
present (3rd person singular)
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widened,
past participle, past
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widening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
widensimple
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widenssimple
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have widenedperfect
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has widenedperfect
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am wideningprogressive
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are wideningprogressive
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is wideningprogressive
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have been wideningperfect progressive
-
has been wideningperfect progressive
Past
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widenedsimple
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had widenedperfect
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was wideningprogressive
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were wideningprogressive
-
had been wideningperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
The report delivers a stark warning, too: "AI could widen gaps between countries, increase inequality within them, concentrate market power, weaken trust in public institutions, and create new risks for safety, rights, and social cohesion."
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Davies added they would be looking to widen footpaths and create fire breaks going forward, but asked any future visitors to stay off the burnt area.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
According to the model, they can widen by about 3 to 10 centimeters each year.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
That’s because the spread can widen even as Treasury rates rise, so long as high-yield spreads rise even further.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
Ama’s eyes widen, and she examines the path of flowers.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
The move into San Diego and three other cities widens the gap between Waymo and its competitors in the robotaxi race.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
It’s only made me realize that one of the great joys of owning a pet is that you develop your own way of communicating, in a way that widens your vocabulary.
From Slate ● Jun. 20, 2026
If the race for nuclear weapons widens and accelerates, the region will become more unstable, heightening risks for the entire world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026
This means that its net interest margin widens when short-term rates rise.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026
We back into a table, and the Boo Hag’s grin widens.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
But it continued to work because traders shifted to focus on 2-year bond yields, where the gap widened a bit this year amid a cautious tone from the BOJ and expectations of Fed rate rises.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
The carrier’s net loss widened to $247 million in the second quarter, from a loss of $74 million in the same period in 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Following Alphabet’s results and its announcement that spending would increase, its stock fell sharply, and its CDS spread widened.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
The search area was widened to the entire city as thousands of police, including officers from surrounding German states, joined the search.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
A fish broke water in a twinkle of silver scales; the ripples widened until the last of them lapped gently at the shore.
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
He had raised the dam’s height mid-construction, without widening the base to support the extra water pressure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
But the country is also witnessing a widening wealth gap.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
There are already signs that the conflict is widening.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
The unit, which is on track to exceed $1 billion in annualized revenue run rate by the end of the year, is also widening its scope, adding offerings such as engineering and design.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Their big yellow eyes surveyed the fire brigade, squinting and widening again.
From "Dactyl Hill Squad" by Daniel José Older
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.
