- 1wide a broad street/avenue/river broad shoulders He is tall, broad, and muscular. a broad smile/grin (= one in which your mouth is stretched very wide because you are very pleased or amused) opposite narrow
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- 2used after a measurement of distance to show how wide something is two yards broad and one yard high
- 3including a great variety of people or things a broad range of products a broad spectrum of interests There is broad support for the government's policies. She took a broad view of the duties of being a teacher (= she believed her duties included a wide range of things). a broad and balanced curriculum We must ensure the project is of advantage to the broader community and does not just benefit a few individuals. opposite narrow general
- 4[only before noun] general; not detailed the broad outline of a proposal The negotiators were in broad agreement on the main issues. She's a feminist, in the broadest sense of the word. In broad terms, the paper argues that each country should develop its own policy. Computer viruses fall into three broad categories. land/water
- 5covering a wide area a broad expanse of water the broad plains of the Midwest accent
- 6if someone has a broad accent, you can hear very easily which area they come from synonym strong a broad Southern accent hint
- 7if someone gives a broad hint, they make it very clear what they are thinking or what they want
- 8dealing with sex in an amusing way The movie mixes broad humor with romance. Which Word?wide / broadThese adjectives are frequently used with the following nouns:
wide ~ broad ~ street shoulders river back area smile range range variety agreement choice outline - Wide is the word most commonly used to talk about something that measures a long distance from one side to the other. Broad is more often used to talk about parts of the body (although wide can be used withmouth). It is used in more formal or written language to describe the features of the countryside, etc:a broad river a broad stretch of meadowland
- Both wide and broad can be used to describe something that includes a large variety of different people or things:a wide/broad range of products.Broad, but not wide, can be used to mean “general” or “not detailed”:All of us are in broad agreement on this matter.
broad adjectivebroadly adverbbroaden verbbreadth nounbroad adjectivebroadly adverbbroaden verbbreadth nounIdioms
wide
(in) the clear light of day, when it is easy to see The robbery occurred in broad daylight, on a crowded street.
to describe something in a general way, ignoring the details
Check pronunciation: broad