broadcast
Americanverb (used with object)
-
broadcasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
broadcast,
past participle, past
-
broadcasted,
past participle, past
-
broadcasting
present participle
-
to transmit (programs) from a radio or television station.
-
to speak, perform, sponsor, or present on a radio or television program.
The president will broadcast his message on all stations tonight.
-
to cast or scatter abroad over an area, as seed in sowing.
-
to spread widely; disseminate.
She broadcast the good news all over town.
-
to indicate unwittingly to another (one's next action); telegraph.
He broadcast his punch and the other man was able to parry it.
verb (used without object)
-
broadcasts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
broadcast,
past participle, past
-
broadcasted,
past participle, past
-
broadcasting
present participle
-
to transmit programs or signals from a radio or television station.
-
to make something known widely; disseminate something.
-
to speak, perform, sponsor, or present all or part of a radio or television program.
The Boston Symphony Orchestra broadcasts every Saturday on our local station.
noun
-
broadcasts
plural
-
something that is broadcast.
-
a single radio or television program.
-
the broadcasting of radio or television messages, speeches, etc.
-
a single period of broadcasting
-
a method of sowing by scattering seed.
adjective
-
(of programs) transmitted from a radio or television station.
-
of or relating to broadcasting.
-
cast abroad or all over an area, as seed scattered widely.
adverb
-
so as to reach the greatest number of people by radio or television.
The vital news was sent broadcast to inform the entire nation.
-
so as to be cast abroad over an area.
seed sown broadcast.
verb
-
to transmit (announcements or programmes) on radio or television
-
(intr) to take part in a radio or television programme
-
(tr) to make widely known throughout an area
to broadcast news
-
(tr) to scatter (seed, etc) over an area, esp by hand
noun
-
-
a transmission or programme on radio or television
-
( as modifier )
a broadcast signal
-
-
-
the act of scattering seeds
-
( as modifier )
the broadcast method of sowing
-
adjective
adverb
Usage
What does broadcast mean? Broadcast means to transmit a television or radio program, as in The network broadcasted cartoons every Saturday morning. In this sense a broadcast can be a single TV or radio program, as in the 6 o’clock news broadcast. Broadcast also means to deliver a message on a transmitted program, as in The police broadcasted the press release on the evening news. More generally, broadcast means to spread something widely, as in She broadcasted her recent wedding engagement to all of her family members. Related to this sense, a broadcast can be news or something similar that you share widely, like your broadcast to your classmates about the A you got on the test. Broadcast also means to mistakenly make a next move obvious, as in The boxer broadcasted his punch with a flashy windup. Example: Coverage of the awards ceremony was the leading story on every news broadcast.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
broadcastsimple
-
broadcastssimple
-
have broadcastperfect
-
have broadcastedperfect
-
has broadcastperfect
-
has broadcastedperfect
-
am broadcastingprogressive
-
are broadcastingprogressive
-
is broadcastingprogressive
-
have been broadcastingperfect progressive
-
has been broadcastingperfect progressive
Past
-
broadcastsimple
-
broadcastedsimple
-
had broadcastperfect
-
had broadcastedperfect
-
was broadcastingprogressive
-
were broadcastingprogressive
-
had been broadcastingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of broadcast
First recorded in 1760–70; originally, broad (adverb) + cast, past participle of cast ( def. )
Explanation
To broadcast is to air a program, especially on TV or radio. It also means to tell people about something. If you paint your one true love’s name on your car, you broadcast your feelings to the whole world! The word broadcast used to have to do with spreading seed, but now it refers to spreading information. It can be a noun or verb — if you turn on the radio, you're hearing a broadcast, and the station is broadcasting that show. You don’t have to be in a studio to broadcast, though. Any time you let a lot of people know about something (whether they like it or not), you broadcast. When information is broadcast, it becomes widely known.
Vocabulary lists containing broadcast
Dirty Words: The Language of Gardening
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Journalism
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Academy Awards, List 2
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Chinese media have primarily focused their reporting on the scale of search and rescue operations, and have not broadcast footage showing the reactions of families.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
The Big Ten added that “all broadcast cameras used for the replay system, including the camera on the game clock, are synced using a strobe system to ensure all cameras are aligned.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The row centres on allegations which surfaced during undercover filming by Verbatim Investigations - founded by journalists from the Centre for Climate Reporting - and broadcast by Channel 4 News on Thursday.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
Billboards along Southern California freeways have broadcast the Angels’ desperate attempts to draw in fans via pathetic promotions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
Aware that German people were listening, the British Broadcasting Corporation, or the BBC, broadcast the news in the German language.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The clash signifies a significant break in the relationship between Smith and the NABJ, which hosted Smith and live broadcasts of his show at its 2024 and 2025 conventions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Telling a federal judge the same kind of thing carries the threat of disbarment and perjury charges, and no amount of bravado previously reserved for on-air broadcasts could change that math.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Wayne Gilmore, an optometrist who owns the local radio station that broadcasts high-school football games, doesn’t want to miss a potential economic boon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
For the first generation of South Asian migrants to the UK, dedicated radio and television broadcasts by the BBC were a lifeline.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
The message broadcasts were hard on all of them.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
The BBC broadcasted all England's games and the final, with the Sweden fixture peaking at three million viewers.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
It’s hard to call it media because it’s not mass broadcasted, but this is content that is being consumed.
From Slate ● Mar. 22, 2026
While organizers deemed the two-day ceremony too far on the timeline to cancel, the red carpet prior to the broadcasted event was canceled.
From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2025
Footage broadcasted by the news outlet showed debris and smoke rising from the side of mountain near the town.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 2023
He, fortunately, understood English, recognized the discourse as that which Shaw had broadcasted the previous evening, realized the significance of what had happened, and sent a letter to the medical press about it.
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
But the company did not end up broadcasting Thursday’s event, leaving investors to glean information through scattered sources.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
Livestream shopping, also called social commerce, is like the old cable shopping channels, but there are millions of shows, each serving a very specific niche, broadcasting live.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
Notes: Ships that moved less than 100 miles during the time period or stopped broadcasting their location for more than 90 minutes are not shown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
This summer, it began broadcasting the name Ruby, assuming the identity of a vessel scrapped in 2018 in an apparent effort to keep operating under the radar, Douglas said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
According to the information she’d read in the Book Scavenger forums, the station would be broadcasting Mr. Griswold’s new game announcement any minute now.
From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
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.
