noun
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the linear extent or measurement of something from side to side, usually being the shortest dimension or (for something fixed) the shortest horizontal dimension
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the state or fact of being wide
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a piece or section of something at its full extent from side to side
a width of cloth
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the distance across a rectangular swimming bath, as opposed to its length
Etymology
Origin of width
Explanation
The noun width means the measurement of an object from one side to the other. The width of your twin bed is less than the width of your parents' queen-sized bed. When you're talking about the dimensions of something, specifically how wide it is, you're discussing its width. The width of your backyard might not lend itself to a full croquet court, but you can still play horseshoes back there. And the width of the streets in some Midwestern cities might surprise you if you're used to narrow New England roads. Before the word width gained popularity in the 1620s, people used the now less common wideness instead.
Vocabulary lists containing width
Geometry - Introductory
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Measurement and Data, List 2
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Geometry (Base List)
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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.
Width is 10 feet and length is 40 feet.
From Textbooks • May 6, 2020
Width means how far you extend your hands away from your chest.
From Golf Digest • Jan. 21, 2020
Width favors them, and it might just crack open the Socceroos’ bank vault of a defense.
From New York Times • Jun. 16, 2018
The title track remains one of his most atmospheric compositions, and songs such as All the Madmen and The Width of a Circle were formidably inventive and accomplished.
From The Guardian • Jan. 11, 2016
Width of face from ear to ear: 11⅛ inches.
From Alone with the Hairy Ainu or, 3,800 miles on a pack saddle in Yezo and a cruise to the Kurile Islands. by Landor, A. H. Savage
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.
