widespread

American  

[wahyd-spred] / ˈwaɪdˈsprɛd /

adjective

1. spread over or open, or occupying a wide space.

2. distributed over a wide region, or occurring in many places or among many persons or individuals.

   widespread poverty.

   Synonyms:

   far-flung, pervasive, extensive, far-reaching

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widespread British  

/ ˈwaɪdˌsprɛd /

adjective

1. extending over a wide area

2. accepted by or occurring among many people

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Etymology

Origin of widespread

First recorded in 1695–1705; wide + spread

Explanation

Widespread means far-reaching. For years, email was used only by computer programmers and technophiles. It was hard to imagine, back then, how widespread the phenomenon of digital communication would become. An idea that's widespread, is believed by many people, even if it's not true. A person such as Oprah, Gandhi, or Beyoncé, who has widespread popularity, is loved by many far and wide. A widespread disease is one that many people have — the flu epidemic of 1919 was deadly and widespread.

Example Sentences

He is believed to have widespread support among the party membership, although there was no leadership election as he was unopposed.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

The attacks and withdrawal of funding have had a widespread impact on nonprofits and the people they serve.

From Barron's • May 12, 2026

It is interesting how this euphemism in particular has gained such widespread use, though of course the practice of wordplay is really anything but new.

From Salon • May 8, 2026

That is holding back investment and hiring plans, though the country hasn’t seen widespread layoffs.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 8, 2026

So widespread was Olmec iconography—jaguar babies, carved stelae, distinctively shaped ceramics—that many archaeologists believed its very ubiquity was evidence that the Olmec “not only engendered Mesoamerica but also brought forth the first Mesoamerican empire.”

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann