widenwid‧en /ˈwaɪdn/ ●●○ verb 
Verb Table Examples
They’re widening the road. The river widens and splits.2[intransitive, transitive] to become larger in degree or range, or to make something do this OPP narrow: The gap between income and expenditure has widened to 11%. They are trying to widen the discussion to include environmental issues.3[intransitive] if your eyes widen, they open more, especially because you are surprised or frightened OPP narrow
Verb TableVERB TABLE
widen
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | widen |
| he, she, it | widens | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | widened |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have widened |
| he, she, it | has widened | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had widened |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will widen |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have widened |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am widening |
| he, she, it | is widening | |
| you, we, they | are widening | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was widening |
| you, we, they | were widening | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been widening |
| he, she, it | has been widening | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been widening |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be widening |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been widening |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- A lot of local residents are against council plans to widen the road.
- From Horton, the valley widens, becoming broader and more expansive.
- Later the tunnel was widened to accommodate larger vehicles.
- Maryland widened its lead to 14 points.
- The gap between the incomes of two-carer families and lone mothers with children has widened.
- The range of university courses available has widened tremendously in recent years.
- The road widened again when we came out of the tunnel.
- When are they going to widen the road?
- But a return to a strictly enforced standard becomes more and more difficult as the gap between generations widens.
- Her eyes widened as though she were shocked at herself.
- In fact, many recent developments have served to widen the gap between North and South.
- The current account deficit widened to 4. 1 billion marks from a revised 2. 9 million marks in September.
- The new interest in growth is sure to widen that gap.
- They widened still further as his eyes ran slowly over the visible curves of her body.
Longman Language Activatorto increase► increase
Collocations to become larger in number, amount, price, value etc: · Gradually the noise and traffic increased as they approached the city.· Hormone levels increase throughout pregnancy.· The use of mobile phones has increased enormously over the past two years.· Revenue and profits have increased dramatically this year.increase by 10%/$100/2 million etc: · The price of cigarettes has increased by 30% in the last two years.increase to (=to reach a total of $1000 etc): · Wind speeds are expected to increase to 60 mph.· The number of high school students using LSD has increased to its highest level since 1986. increase from £300/1 million etc to £400/1.5 million etc: · Health care costs increased from £1.9 billion in 2000 to £4 billion in 2001. increase in number/value etc: · Major league clubs have increased in number from 26 to 28.
► go up/rise to increase - use this about numbers, prices, or temperatures etc, but also about the level or standard of something: · The price of petrol is going up again, for the third time this year.· The jobless rate hit 9.3% last month, after rising for four months in a row.· With more and more cars on the road, pollution levels are rising steadily.· You'll need about £10, if the rail fare's gone up again, which I expect it has.go up/rise by 10%/$500 etc (=become 10% etc greater): · Personal computer sales rose by 70% in the run-up to Christmas.go up/rise to: · By mid-day, the temperature had already risen to 40 degrees.go up/rise from £300/1 million etc to £400/2 million etc: · The average price of a loaf of bread has gone up from 25p to 60p.
► grow to increase gradually over a period of time - use this about numbers or amounts, or about a total amount of business activity or trade: · China's economic output continues to grow at a remarkable annual rate.· Demand for new cars is growing rapidly.· The number of openly gay rock musicians has grown steadily in recent years, and shows no signs of abating.grow by 10%/5000 etc (=become 10% etc greater): · Profits in the military aircraft business grew by 28% to a record $905 million.grow to: · The personnel team has grown to 6,700 full-time employees from just 900 in 2000.
► climb if the temperature, prices, profits etc climb , they increase until they reach a very high level: · Demand for goods grew and imports climbed steadily.climb to: · The original estimate of $500 million has now climbed to a staggering $1300 million.· Temperatures are expected to climb to record levels this weekend.
► gain if something or someone gains speed, weight, or height, their speed, weight, or height increases: · The train rolled forward, gaining speed rapidly.· A new-born baby will gain weight at around one ounce per day.· The four men told the inquiry they did not know why the plane failed to gain height after it took off.
► escalate to increase to a high level - use this about things you do not want to increase such as prices, crimes etc: · Gas prices are expected to continue to escalate in the short term.· Staff saw costs escalating and sales slumping as the effect of the recession hit the company.escalate to: · The cost of the new building has escalated to a worrying level.escalate sharply/dramatically: · The number of attacks on foreign aid workers has escalated dramatically.
► pick up if trade, business, or work picks up , the amount of it that is available increases after it has been at a level that is too low: · Their shop was losing money, but they carried on in the hope that business would pick up soon.· At present the hotel is almost empty, but I'm sure things will start to pick up in the spring.
► widen if a difference between two amounts widens , or the range of things available widens , it increases: · The range of university courses available has widened tremendously in recent years.· The gap between the incomes of two-carer families and lone mothers with children has widened.
► be on the increase if something bad such as a problem or illness is on the increase , it is happening more and more frequently: · Juvenile crime is on the increase in most parts of the country.· Homelessness has been on the increase for a long time.be on the increase among: · What is particularly alarming is that bullying is on the increase among even very young primary children.
► intensify if an effort or an activity such as fighting intensifies , it increases so that more people do it or the people already doing it use more effort: · The fighting intensified and spread through the city.· As the season intensifies, quarterback Young will need to work on his fitness.· The controversy is only expected to intensify.
► expand if trade or a business activity expands , it increases: · Trade between developing countries and industrialized countries is beginning to expand.· The business was growing rapidly and beginning to expand abroad.
► build up if the number or amount of something builds up , it increases gradually so that there is much more than there was before: · Traffic is building up on the southern exit of the motorway.· A huge backlog of work had built up during my absence.
to make something wider► make something wider · I think we'll have to make the door a bit wider so that wheelchairs can get through.· Why don't you make the table wider?
► widen to make something such as a road wider, especially in a deliberately planned way: · A lot of local residents are against council plans to widen the road.· Later the tunnel was widened to accommodate larger vehicles.
to become wider► become/get wider · The river starts to get wider at Lyon.· The gap between the boat and the pier was getting wider and wider.· The path gradually became wider as we came down off the mountain.
► widen to become wider - use this especially in written descriptions of places: · The road widened again when we came out of the tunnel.· From Horton, the valley widens, becoming broader and more expansive.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► widen your circle
Word family (=make it include more people)· In London she set about widening her circle.
► extend/broaden/widen a definition (=make it include more ideas)· The new law has broadened the definition of terrorism.
► broaden/widen your experience (=increase the amount of different experience you have)· After six years with the bank, he went to work in New York to broaden his experience.
► somebody’s eyes widen (=become more open because they are surprised)· His eyes widened in shock.
► a growing/widening gap· There is a widening gap in the academic performance of boys and girls.
► widen the gap· Technology has widened the gap between people with and without computer skills.
► the gap widens· The gap is widening between the incomes of the rich and the less well-off.
► a grin widens (=someone starts smiling even more)· Marcus's amused grin widened.
► a road narrows/widens· After a couple of miles, the road narrows.
► widen/broaden the scope of something· The police are widening the scope of their investigation.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB► still· They widened still further as his eyes ran slowly over the visible curves of her body.· It widened still further in the 1980s as sales of the Mirror fell.
NOUN► basis· A widening basis typically means cash bonds are rising more than bond futures.· The yield gap between the three-month bill and 30-year bond widened to 213 basis points from 212.
► choice· The Government said it would widen choice for viewers and listeners, safeguard quality programming and bring greater competition and efficiency.· Know how to overspend it to widen your choices, but do not overspend recklessly.· We have a range of initiatives which are designed to promote owner-occupation and to widen choice for tenants.· They wanted education which offered some evidence of achievement, some possibility of widening their choices in life.
► circle· Then I widened my circle to boxing friends.· Yet this delayed-action disease manifested itself in widening circles and in larger numbers of people.· Political work further widened my circle of acquaintances in London, particularly in the Labour movement.· His prescriptions sound modest: Cushion people against economic shocks, widen the circle of prosperity, reduce inequality.· First he covered the area near the tree, then he extended his search, widening the circle.
► deficit· The current account deficit widened to 4. 1 billion marks from a revised 2. 9 million marks in September.
► gap· The more I try to explain, the more I feel the language gap widen, leaving me isolated and estranged.· The strain this imposed became unbearable as the gap widened.· The trade gap widened by 3. 4 percent to $ 10. 36 billion, the highest in seven months.· Those costs have been passed on to the residents, so the gap has widened.· But a return to a strictly enforced standard becomes more and more difficult as the gap between generations widens.· Britain's trade gap widens Britain's trade gap almost doubled last month with the worst figures for almost a year.· From then on, the gap progressively widened.
► horizon· For those who wished to widen their horizons there were educational influences outside the classroom.· If you add keyboard skills, you could widen these horizons.· As we move towards the end of the millennium the Association is increasingly widening its horizons.· I really do see this age as a time to widen horizons.
► market· They want to widen the market.· This widens markets and permits greater specialization in the use of both property and human resources.
► range· Many new varieties are currently being evaluated in order to widen the range of suitable varieties. requirements 1.· Firstly, retail banks have widened the range of services offered to customers.· The introduction and expansion of a devolved staff development budget means that schools will be widening their range of staff development contacts.
► road· The Company had to pay £4,600 toward road widening in Penge and Anerley.· It was a driveway that narrowed at the road, then widened as gracefully as stemware.· The road had been widened over the years.· The hills begin to plane out into a high plateau, and the road widens.· The road widening will uproot 46 oak trees and damage wildlife habitat.
► scope· Whilst being very happy in a secretarial role I would like to widen my scope.· She had read the words, widen your scope, in a phrase book.· The Law Society, which represents solicitors, welcomed the report, which would widen solicitors' scope for fee-earning.· This raises the question whether these words widen the scope for challenge.· Many authorities are widening the scope of discussion with general practitioners to develop appropriate means of local involvement.
► smile· His smile widened as many fond memories came flooding back.
► trade· Britain's trade gap widens Britain's trade gap almost doubled last month with the worst figures for almost a year.· The trade gap widened by 3. 4 percent to $ 10. 36 billion, the highest in seven months.
VERB► continue· Today, the gap between rich and poor continues to widen.· The gap between rich and poor has continued to widen into the 1990s, according to a new think-tank study.
► try· The report will therefore try to widen the knowledge of the school's decision-makers.· Tropicana will launch its own marketing blitz Monday, trying to widen its extensive lead in the ready-to-drink juice segment.· Secretary of the Amateur Rowing Association from 1893 to 1901, he tried unsuccessfully to widen its narrow definition of an amateur.
WORD FAMILYadverbwidewidelynounwidthadjectivewideverbwiden
1[intransitive, transitive] to become wider, or to make something wider OPP narrow: They’re widening the road. The river widens and splits.2[intransitive, transitive] to become larger in degree or range, or to make something do this OPP narrow: The gap between income and expenditure has widened to 11%. They are trying to widen the discussion to include environmental issues.3[intransitive] if your eyes widen, they open more, especially because you are surprised or frightened OPP narrow