broad

[ brawd ]

/ brɔd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR broad ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, broad·er, broad·est.

of great breadth: The river was too broad to swim across.

measured from side to side: The desk was three feet broad.

of great extent; large: the broad expanse of ocean.

widely diffused; open; full: We awoke to broad daylight.

not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope: A modern doctor must have a broad knowledge of medicine.

liberal; tolerant: A broad interpretation of the law tempers justice with mercy.

main or general: the broad outlines of a subject.

plain or clear: Her remark was a broad hint of her feelings.

bold; plain-spoken.

indelicate; indecent: He smirked at the broad joke.

(of conversation) rough; countrified.

unconfined; free; unrestrained: It was a hilarious evening of broad mirth.

(of pronunciation) strongly dialectal: He wore kilts and had a broad Scots accent.

Phonetics. (of a transcription) using one basic symbol to represent each phoneme.

broad a, the a-sound

[ah] /ɑ/ when used in lieu of the more common a-sound

[a] /æ/ in such words as half, can't, and laugh.

adverb

fully: He was broad awake.

noun

the broad part of anything.

Slang.

Usually Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman.
a promiscuous woman.

Often broads. Movies, Television. an incandescent or fluorescent lamp used as a general source of light in a studio.

a gold coin of England and Scotland, issued by James I and Charles I and equal to 20 shillings. Compare carolus, jacobus.

Idioms for broad

broad on the beam, Nautical. bearing 90° to the heading of a vessel.

broad on the bow, Nautical. bearing 45° to the heading of a vessel.

broad on the quarter, Nautical. bearing 135° to the heading of a vessel.

Origin of broad

before 1000; Middle English bro(o)d, Old English brād; cognate with Dutch breed, German breit, Old Norse breithr, Gothic braiths

SYNONYMS FOR broad

1 See wide.

3 extensive, ample, vast.

5 liberal, open.

10 gross.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR broad ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR broad

1 narrow.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR broad ON THESAURUS.COM

usage note for broad

When used to refer to a woman, broad is usually perceived as insulting. The meaning “promiscuous woman” is probably the earlier sense.

OTHER WORDS FROM broad

broad·ish, adjective broad·ly, adverb o·ver·broad, adjective

Words nearby broad

brno chair, bro, bro talk, bro., broach, broad, broad arrow, broad bean, broad church, broad construction, broad daylight

Example sentences from the Web for broadly

But it is too early to tell if the changes he helped unleash will prove sustainable, or if they will broadly serve our citizenry.

Your Local School Doesn’t Have to Suck |Michael S. Roth |December 17, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
ISIS had broadly advertised its acquisition of a broad range of U.S.-made weapons during its rampage across Iraq.

ISIS Video: America’s Air Dropped Weapons Now in Our Hands |Josh Rogin |October 21, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
World leaders, businesses, and economists have broadly supported the case for retaining the union.

Voter Intimidation Grips Scotland as It Votes on Independence |Nico Hines |September 18, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
In Iraq there is already a Shia-led government in Baghdad broadly aligned with Tehran.

How Iran Could Become Our Shadow Enemy in the Syria ISIS War |Jacob Siegel |September 16, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

Indeed, Republicans are now broadly in favor of hitting “back” at ISIS.

Is Democracy Doomed Abroad? |James Poulos |August 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The word thinking, defined early in this chapter, is broadly used to denote the sum of all the intellectual faculties.

Applied Psychology for Nurses |Mary F. Porter
Some are cone-shaped with rocky bottoms, some have broadly developed flat bottoms and are known as prairies.

Florida Caverns State Park |Robert O. Vernon
Its cap is large, thick and firm, smooth and broadly convex, sometimes pale yellow or buff.

The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise |M. E. Hard
Though he would have been broadly characterized as a young man, his face bore contradictory testimonies to his precise age.

A Laodicean |Thomas Hardy
This statement is broadly true; yet the correction it needs is a very important one.

The Pleasures of England |John Ruskin

British Dictionary definitions for broadly

broad

/ (brɔːd) /

adjective

having relatively great breadth or width

of vast extent; spacious a broad plain

(postpositive) from one side to the other four miles broad

of great scope or potential that invention had broad applications

not detailed; general broad plans

clear and open; full (esp in the phrase broad daylight)

obvious or plain broad hints

liberal; tolerant a broad political stance

widely spread; extensive broad support

outspoken or bold a broad manner

vulgar; coarse; indecent a broad joke

unrestrained; free broad laughter

(of a dialect or pronunciation) consisting of a large number of speech sounds characteristic of a particular geographical area a broad Yorkshire accent

finance denoting an assessment of liquidity as including notes and coin in circulation with the public, banks' till money and balances, most private-sector bank deposits, and sterling bank-deposit certificates broad money Compare narrow (def. 7)

phonetics

of or relating to a type of pronunciation transcription in which symbols correspond approximately to phonemes without taking account of allophonic variations
broad a the long vowel in English words such as father, half, as represented in the received pronunciation of Southern British English

as broad as it is long amounting to the same thing; without advantage either way

noun

the broad part of something

slang, mainly US and Canadian

a girl or woman
a prostitute

British dialect a river spreading over a lowland See also Broads

East Anglian dialect a shallow lake

a wood-turning tool used for shaping the insides and bottoms of cylinders

adverb

widely or fully broad awake

Derived forms of broad

broadly, adverb broadness, noun

Word Origin for broad

Old English brād; related to Old Norse breithr, Old Frisian brēd, Old High German breit, Gothic braiths

Idioms and Phrases with broadly

broad

In addition to the idioms beginning with broad

broad daylight
broad in the beam
broad shoulders, have

also see:

can't hit the broad side of a barn

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

broad

adjective, broad·er, broad·est.

adverb

noun

Idioms for broad

Origin of broad

SYNONYMS FOR broad

ANTONYMS FOR broad

usage note for broad

OTHER WORDS FROM broad

Words nearby broad

Example sentences from the Web for broadly

British Dictionary definitions for broadly

adjective

noun

adverb

Derived forms of broad

Word Origin for broad

Idioms and Phrases with broadly

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

broad

adjective, broad·er, broad·est.

adverb

noun

Idioms for broad

Origin of broad

SYNONYMS FOR broad

ANTONYMS FOR broad

usage note for broad

OTHER WORDS FROM broad

Words nearby broad

Words related to broadly

Example sentences from the Web for broadly

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for broadly

adjective

noun

adverb

Derived forms of broad

Word Origin for broad

Idioms and Phrases with broadly

British Dictionary definitions for broadly