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Webster 1913 Edition

Broad

Broad

(bra̤d)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Broader
(bra̤d′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Broadest
.]
[OE.
brod
,
brad
, AS.
brād
; akin to OS.
brēd
, D.
breed
, G.
breit
, Icel.
breiðr
, Sw. & Dan.
bred
, Goth.
braids
. Cf.
Breadth
.]
1.
Wide; extend in breadth, or from side to side; – opposed to
narrow
;
as, a
broad
street, a
broad
table; an inch
broad
.
2.
Extending far and wide; extensive; vast;
as, the
broad
expanse of ocean
.
3.
Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
“Broad and open day.”
Bp. Porteus.
4.
Fig.: Having a large measure of any thing or quality; not limited; not restrained; – applied to any subject, and retaining the literal idea more or less clearly, the precise meaning depending largely on the substantive.
A
broad
mixture of falsehood.
Locke.
Hence: -
5.
Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
The words in the Constitution are
broad
enough to include the case.
D. Daggett.
In a
broad
, statesmanlike, and masterly way.
E. Everett.
6.
Plain; evident;
as, a
broad
hint
.
7.
Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
As
broad
and general as the casing air.
Shakespeare
8.
(Fine Arts)
Characterized by breadth. See
Breadth
.
9.
Cross; coarse; indelicate;
as, a
broad
compliment; a
broad
joke;
broad
humor
.
10.
Strongly marked;
as, a
broad
Scotch accent
.
☞ Broad is often used in compounds to signify wide, large, etc.;
as,
broad
-chested,
broad
-shouldered,
broad
-spreading,
broad
-winged
.
Broad acres
.
See under
Acre
.
–
Broad arrow
,
originally a pheon. See
Pheon
, and
Broad arrow
under
Arrow
.
–
As broad as long
,
having the length equal to the breadth; hence, the same one way as another; coming to the same result by different ways or processes.
It is as
broad as long
, whether they rise to others, or bring others down to them.
L’Estrange.
Broad pennant
.
See under
Pennant
.
Syn. – Wide; large; ample; expanded; spacious; roomy; extensive; vast; comprehensive; liberal.

Broad

,
Noun.
1.
The broad part of anything;
as, the
broad
of an oar
.
2.
The spread of a river into a sheet of water; a flooded fen.
[Local, Eng.]
Southey.
3.
A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
Knight.

Webster 1828 Edition

Broad

BROAD

,
Adj.
brawd. [L. gradior; a root of extensive use.]
1.
Wide; extended in breadth, or from side to side, as distinguished from long, or extended from end to end. It is opposed to narrow; as a broad street; a broad table.
2.
Wide; extensive; vast; as the broad expanse of ocean.
3.
Large; as a broad mixture of falsehood.
4.
Open; clear; not covered,confined or concealed; as in broad sunshine.
5.
Gross; coarse; as broad mirth; broad nonsense.
6.
Plain; tending to obscenity; as a broad comment.
7.
Bold; not delicate; not reserved; as broad words.
8.
Comprehensive.
It may be urged that the words in the constitution are broad enough to include the case.
Broad as long, equal upon the whole.

Definition 2024

broad

broad

See also: Broad. and B road

English

Adjective

broad ‎(comparative broader, superlative broadest)

  1. Wide in extent or scope.
    three feet broad
    the broad expanse of ocean
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
      Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.
    • 2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in the Guardian:
      Julia Farrington, head of arts at Index on Censorship, argues that extra powers to ban violent videos online will "end up too broad and open to misapplication, which would damage freedom of expression".
    • 2013 June 28, Joris Luyendijk, “Our banks are out of control”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 3, page 21:
      Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […]  But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage three – what therapists call "bargaining". A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.
  2. Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
    • Bishop Porteus
      broad and open day
  3. Having a large measure of any thing or quality; not limited; not restrained.
    • John Locke
      a broad mixture of falsehood
  4. Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
    • D. Daggett
      The words in the Constitution are broad enough to include the case.
    • E. Everett
      in a broad, statesmanlike, and masterly way
  5. Plain; evident.
    a broad hint
  6. Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
    • Shakespeare
      as broad and general as the casing air
  7. (dated) Gross; coarse; indelicate.
    a broad compliment; a broad joke; broad humour
  8. (of an accent) Strongly regional.
  9. (Gaelic languages) Velarized, i.e. not palatalized.

Antonyms

  • (Regarding occupied space, width of an object): thin, narrow
  • (Regarding body width): skinny
  • (Not palatalized): slender

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

broad ‎(plural broads)

  1. (dated) A prostitute, a woman of loose morals.
  2. (US) A woman or girl.
    Who was that broad I saw you with?
  3. (Britain) A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
  4. A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Knight to this entry?)
  5. (Britain, historical) A British gold coin worth 20 shillings, issued by the Commonwealth of England in 1656.

Synonyms

  • See also Wikisaurus:prostitute
  • See also Wikisaurus:woman
  • See also Wikisaurus:girl

Translations

See also

  • Appendix:Word formation verb -en noun -ness

Anagrams

Breton

Noun

broad m ‎(plural broiz)

  1. person from a country

Noun

broad f ‎(plural broadoù)

  1. nation

Derived terms

Etymology

From Middle English brood, brode, from Old English brād ‎(“broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious”), from Proto-Germanic *braidaz ‎(“broad”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots braid ‎(“broad”), West Frisian breed ‎(“broad”), Saterland Frisian breed ‎(“broad”), Low German breed ‎(“broad”), breet, Dutch breed ‎(“broad”), German breit ‎(“broad, wide”), Danish bred ‎(“broad”), Swedish bred ‎(“broad”), Icelandic breiður ‎(“broad, wide”).

Pronunciation

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