wide

¹

[ wahyd ]

adjective

, wid·er, wid·est.

1. having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad:

   a wide boulevard.

   Antonyms: narrow

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.

   Synonyms: ample, comprehensive, boundless

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 ¹( def 7 ).
11. British Slang. shrewd; wary.

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.

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.

-wide

²

1. 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.

wide

/ waɪd /

adjective

1. having a great extent from side to side
2. of vast size or scope; spacious or extensive
3. 1. postpositive having a specified extent, esp from side to side

      two yards wide

   2. in combination covering or extending throughout

      nationwide

4. distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etc

   your guess is wide of the mark

5. (of eyes) opened fully
6. loose, full, or roomy

   wide trousers

7. exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limits

   a wide variation

8. See open, lax
   phonetics another word for lax open

adverb

1. over an extensive area

   to travel far and wide

2. to the full extent

   he opened the door wide

3. far from the desired point, mark, etc

noun

1. (in cricket) a bowled ball that is outside the batsman's reach and scores a run for the batting side
2. archaic.
   a wide space or extent
3. to the wide
   to the wide completely

Derived Forms

• ˈwidish, adjective
• ˈwidely, adverb
• ˈwideness, noun

Other Words From

• wideness noun
• over·wide adjective
• over·widely adverb
• over·wideness noun
• super·wide adjective
• ultra·wide adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wide¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of wide¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

• 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

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

There are three 12MP cameras on the back for the main, telephoto, and wide angle lenses, along with a ToF sensor.

From Ars Technica

You’d have to look far and wide to find a major company that doesn’t have palm oil on its hands.

From Nautilus

She grabbed 31 percent of the available defensive rebounds, served as secondary facilitator and defended a wide variety of opposing players, finishing with the 13th-most win shares in the league.

From FiveThirtyEight

They also are more likely to show a wide range of other physical and mental health issues.

From Science News For Students

The Epson Expression Photo HD XP-15000 is a wide-format printer with support for borderless 13 x 19-inch printing and a few convenient features that the Canon iP8720 is missing.

From Popular-Science

The email appears to have been a relatively common attempt to gain personal information from a wide range of unwitting victims.

From The Daily Beast

Sprawled on chaise lounges with their knees high in the air and their legs spread wide.

From The Daily Beast

An escort who goes by the name of “Tommy” has experienced a wide variety of female clients.

From The Daily Beast

But instead of just quietly releasing a statement through a publicist, she broadcasted her anger far and wide.

From The Daily Beast

His hunger strike in December 2011 received nation-wide recognition and was one of the sparks that ignited the protest movement.

From The Daily Beast

In cross-section the burrows varied from round (three inches in diameter) to oval (three inches high and four inches wide).

From Project Gutenberg

Her eyes, for a moment, fixed themselves with a horrid conviction of a wide and nameless treachery.

From Project Gutenberg

The streets here are rather wide for an Italian city but would be deemed intolerably narrow in America.

From Project Gutenberg

His nose was hooked and rather large, his eyes were blue, bright as steel, and set a trifle wide.

From Project Gutenberg

As usual the dinner was recherché, for the Pandemonium chef enjoyed a world-wide reputation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ample
• broad
• deep
• expanded
• extensive
• far-reaching
• full
• immense
• large
• loose
• spacious
• vast