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wide

[wahyd]
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adjective, wid·er, wid·est.
  1. having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad: a wide boulevard.
  2. having a certain or specified extent from side to side: three feet wide.
  3. of great horizontal extent; extensive; vast; spacious: the wide plains of the West.
  4. of great range or scope; embracing a great number or variety of subjects, cases, etc.: wide experience.
  5. open to the full or a great extent; expanded; distended: to stare with wide eyes.
  6. apart or remote from a specified point or object: a guess wide of the truth.
  7. too far or too much to one side: a shot wide of the mark.
  8. Baseball. outside(def 16): The pitch was wide of the plate.
  9. full, ample, or roomy, as clothing: He wore wide, flowing robes.
  10. Phonetics. lax(def 7).
  11. British Slang. shrewd; wary.
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adverb
  1. to the full extent of opening: Open your mouth wide.
  2. to the utmost, or fully: to be wide awake.
  3. away from or to one side of a point, mark, purpose, or the like; aside; astray: The shot went wide.
  4. over an extensive space or region, or far abroad: scattered far and wide.
  5. to a great, or relatively great, extent from side to side: The river runs wide here.
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noun
  1. Cricket. a bowled ball that goes wide of the wicket, and counts as a run for the side batting.
  2. Archaic. a wide space or expanse.
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Origin of wide

before 900; Middle English; Old English wīd; cognate with Dutch wijd, German weit, Old Norse vīthr
Related formswide·ness, nouno·ver·wide, adjectiveo·ver·wide·ly, adverbo·ver·wide·ness, nounsu·per·wide, adjectiveul·tra·wide, adjective

Synonyms

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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. 3. boundless; comprehensive; ample.

Antonyms

1. narrow.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

fullamplebroadloosedeepfar-reachinglargeimmensespaciousextensivevastexpandedfarremoteawayoffastrayadvancedall-inclusivebaggy

Examples from the Web for wider

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The path was wider and more worn now--almost a thoroughfare, in fact.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

  • In 1825, he sought a wider field of action and removed to Boston.

  • And every new embodiment of a known truth must be a new and wider revelation.

    A Dish Of Orts

    George MacDonald

  • And every day thereafter found him out and ranging a wider area.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • The range of our talk was tremendous, and the wider we ranged the closer we drew.

    The Harbor

    Ernest Poole

British Dictionary definitions for wider

wide

adjective
  1. having a great extent from side to side
  2. of vast size or scope; spacious or extensive
    1. (postpositive)having a specified extent, esp from side to sidetwo yards wide
    2. (in combination)covering or extending throughoutnationwide
  4. distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etcyour guess is wide of the mark
  5. (of eyes) opened fully
  6. loose, full, or roomywide trousers
  7. exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limitsa wide variation
  8. phonetics another word for lax (def. 4), open (def. 34)
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adverb
  1. over an extensive areato travel far and wide
  2. to the full extenthe opened the door wide
  3. far from the desired point, mark, etc
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noun
  1. (in cricket) a bowled ball that is outside the batsman's reach and scores a run for the batting side
  2. archaic, or poetic a wide space or extent
  3. to the wide completely
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Derived Formswidely, adverbwideness, nounwidish, adjective

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for wider

wide

adj.

Old English wid, from Proto-Germanic *widas (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian wid, Old Norse viðr, Dutch wijd, Old High German wit, German weit), perhaps from PIE *wi-ito-, from root *wi- "apart, away." Wide open "unguarded, exposed to attack" (1915) originally was in boxing, etc. Wide awake (adj.) is first recorded 1818; figurative sense of "alert, knowing" is attested from 1833.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with wider

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
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.