wide

[ wahyd ]

/ waɪd /

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See synonyms for: wide / wider / widest / wideness on Thesaurus.com

adjective, wid·er, wid·est.

having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad: a wide boulevard.

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.

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 (def. 16):The pitch was wide of the plate.

full, ample, or roomy, as clothing: He wore wide, flowing robes.

Phonetics. lax¹ (def. 7).

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR wide

3 boundless; comprehensive; ample.

See synonyms for wide on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR wide

1 narrow.

See antonyms for wide on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

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Origin of wide

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wīd; cognate with Dutch wijd,German weit,Old Norse vīthr

synonym study for wide

1. 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 WORDS FROM wide

wideness, nouno·ver·wide, adjectiveo·ver·wide·ly, adverbo·ver·wide·ness, noun

su·per·wide, adjectiveul·tra·wide, adjective

Other definitions for wide (2 of 2)

-wide

a combining form of wide, forming from nouns adjectives with the general sense “extending or applying throughout a given space,” as specified by the noun: communitywide; countrywide; worldwide.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use wide in a sentence

This mindset was reflected to the wider society through popular literature.
The French Court’s Royal Ban on Smiles|William O’Connor|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In wearing it, Hurley helped originate a wider revolution, too.
Happy 20th Birthday, Liz Hurley’s Safety-Pin Dress|Tim Teeman|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And there were much wider protests later in 2012 after the anti-Islam movie trailer, “Innocence of Muslims,” appeared on YouTube.
Why the Muslim World Isn’t Flipping Out Over the CIA Torture Report|Dean Obeidallah|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He added that The Post, a national brand which had long been “a local product,” will now focus on reaching a wider audience.
Jeff Bezos: ‘I See Millions Working in Outer Space’|Lloyd Grove|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It just showed me there was a much wider world, and a lot of ways to look at things.
James Patterson Goes Full ‘Fahrenheit 451’ With Burning Book Video|William O’Connor|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The other opened the door wider and at once bowed him in with a smile of genuine welcome.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
In length there was no alteration, but the design seems more condensed, more compact, yet slightly wider in the opening.
Antonio Stradivari|Horace William Petherick
The point where we stood—a huddled, shivering group—faced the wider channels that led to the open sea and Finland.
Three More John Silence Stories|Algernon Blackwood
The scale was vaster, horizons wider, beauty and wonder walked hand in hand with love and death.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
They were rowing down the channel of the wider portion of the creek towards Isabel's landing, their boat filled with spoil.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for wide

wide

/ (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 sidetwo yards wide
(in combination) covering or extending throughoutnationwide

distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etcyour guess is wide of the mark

(of eyes) opened fully

loose, full, or roomywide trousers

exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limitsa wide variation

phonetics another word for lax (def. 4), open (def. 34)

adverb

over an extensive areato travel far and wide

to the full extenthe 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, or poetic a wide space or extent

to the wide completely

Derived forms of wide

widely, adverbwideness, nounwidish, adjective

Word Origin for wide

Old English wīd; related to Old Norse vīthr, Old High German wīt

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with wide

wide

In addition to the idioms beginning with wide

wide awake
wide open

also see:

all wool and a yard wide
cut a wide swath
far and wide
give a wide berth to
lay (oneself wide) open
leave (wide) open
off (wide of) the mark

wide

OTHER WORDS FOR wide

OPPOSITES FOR wide

Origin of wide

synonym study for wide

OTHER WORDS FROM wide

Other definitions for wide (2 of 2)

Words related to wide

How to use wide in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wide

Derived forms of wide

Word Origin for wide

Other Idioms and Phrases with wide