width

American  

[width, witth, with] / wɪdθ, wɪtθ, wɪθ /

noun

1. extent from side to side; breadth; wideness.

2. a piece of the full wideness, as of cloth.

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width British  

/ wɪdθ /

noun

1. the linear extent or measurement of something from side to side, usually being the shortest dimension or (for something fixed) the shortest horizontal dimension

2. the state or fact of being wide

3. a piece or section of something at its full extent from side to side

   a width of cloth

4. the distance across a rectangular swimming bath, as opposed to its length

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Etymology

Origin of width

1620–30; wide + -th ¹, modeled on breadth, etc.

Example Sentences

In some cases, their tightest sections measure only a few angstroms across, roughly the width of individual atoms.

From Science Daily

That interval is so brief that even light would not travel across the width of a small virus during that time.

From Science Daily

The most welcome technologies are those that help me contend with the lane-spanning width.

From The Wall Street Journal

No changes will be made to the width and level at which the band is centered.

From The Wall Street Journal

The heel bones also appear to have been sufficiently large to accommodate the tendon width required for this form of movement.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• diameter
• girth
• scope
• span
• thickness