adjective
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extending over a wide area
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accepted by or occurring among many people
Etymology
Origin of widespread
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.
Vocabulary lists containing widespread
"The Civil Rights Movement"
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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"Laws are not the only way to boost immunization”: an editorial from Nature
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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’s not the case, despite AI’s use becoming widespread on Wall Street.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
The country has been grappling with the fallout from an investment fund scandal which erupted in mid-September, prompting prosecutors to investigate allegations of widespread market manipulation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
One strategist said the turmoil in sovereign-bond markets could cause widespread ripple effects because much of the AI-driven economic expansion is fuelled by credit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Ciliates are widespread in freshwater and marine environments.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Why both are so widespread is the topic of the next chapter.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
