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Definition of broach verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

broach

verb
 
/brəʊtʃ/
 
/brəʊtʃ/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they broach
 
/brəʊtʃ/
 
/brəʊtʃ/
he / she / it broaches
 
/ˈbrəʊtʃɪz/
 
/ˈbrəʊtʃɪz/
past simple broached
 
/brəʊtʃt/
 
/brəʊtʃt/
past participle broached
 
/brəʊtʃt/
 
/brəʊtʃt/
-ing form broaching
 
/ˈbrəʊtʃɪŋ/
 
/ˈbrəʊtʃɪŋ/
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  1. broach something (with somebody) to begin talking about a subject that is difficult to discuss, especially because it is embarrassing or because people disagree about it
    • She was dreading having to broach the subject of money with her father.
    • The report fails to broach some important questions.
    Oxford Collocations DictionaryBroach is used with these nouns as the object:
    • matter
    • subject
    • topic
    See full entry
    Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French brochier, based on Latin brocchus, broccus ‘projecting’. The earliest recorded sense was ‘prick with spurs’, generally ‘pierce’. The current sense is a figurative use of this and dates from the late 16th cent.
See broach in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
generic
adjective
 
 
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