broad
/brɔːd
/adjective
1Having a distance larger than usual from side to side; wide: a broad staircase...
- One was a tremendously tall man, with broad shoulders and huge muscles.
- At last we left the main highway and turned into a still narrower road, barely one lane wide, with broad dirt shoulders.
- The men all had identical bodies - huge shaved pecs, broad shoulders, tans and tan lines, white smiles, slightly bulging eyes and bland faces.
Synonyms
wide, large, big
1.1(After a measurement) giving the distance from side to side: the valley is three miles long and half a mile broad...
- The castle itself was measured as being 56 feet high, 56 feet broad, and 38 feet in width, and the thickness of the walls was said to be 8 feet.
- Lough Ennell or Belvidere Lake, southwest of Mullingar, is 5 miles long and 2 miles broad.
- The island Britain is 800 miles long, and 200 miles broad.
Synonyms
in breadth, in width, from side to side, wide, across, thick
1.2Large in area: a broad expanse of paddy fields...
- Five upward-facing tines Dr. Baker capture tissue and spread pressure over a broad area, facilitating sturdy fixation and reattachment.
- In these slides, a broad area of snowpack breaks away and begins moving downhill as a cohesive mass riding over an ice sheet or bare ground.
- Now, as I look at the graphic behind you there, Max, as we see that, that's a broad area that you have there for a danger zone.
Synonyms
extensive, vast, immense, great, spacious, expansive, sizeable, sweeping, rambling, rolling, ample, spread out, far reaching, boundless, immeasurable
2Covering a large number and wide scope of subjects: the company has a broad range of experience...
- It was obvious how diverse all of your interests were, and so I've tried to offer a broad scope of subjects without making one seem more important than the other.
- We know, and I am sure you know, Mr Chairman, how broad the scope and subject of the Resource Management Act is.
- Passionate about space, they proposed a university dedicated to a broad range of space-related subjects for graduate students from all parts of the world.
Synonyms
comprehensive, inclusive, extensive, wide, wide-ranging, broad-ranging, encyclopedic, all-embracing;
general, universal, catholic, eclectic, unlimited;
cross-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary
2.1Having a wide range of meanings or applications; loosely defined: our range of programmes comprises three broad categories...
- It also offers a broad range of software applications and hardware dedicated to the land development market.
- At the same time, Becker notes, the discipline is broad in theory and application, including a wide range of experimental and applied work.
- A renewable, tissue culture source of human cells capable of differentiating into a wide variety of cell types would have broad applications in basic research and therapeutic techniques.
2.2Including many people of many kinds: the polls registered broad support for Labour...
- Bush reached out for the broad support of Americans on Wednesday, even those who voted against him.
- Support was broad and bipartisan; contrary to what is often assumed today, a higher proportion of Republicans than of Democrats supported the bill.
- But Boyko disagreed, saying that anybody who thinks there is broad support for such a proposal is ‘delusional.’
3General; without detail: a broad outline of the legal framework for pension schemes...
- The mediums much prefer generalities, broad statements, and vague hints, all of which can be ‘interpreted’ generously.
- It's a broad, sweeping generalization about a communication medium and an art form that has just as many good and bad things going for it as anything else.
- This is, of course, in addition to his unfortunate tendency to make ridiculously broad generalizations and radically oversimplify complex social and moral issues.
Synonyms
general, non-specific, unspecific, unfocused, rough, approximate, overall, sweeping, basic, loose, indefinite, vague, hazy, fuzzy, woolly
North American informal ballpark
3.1(Of a hint) clear and unambiguous; not subtle: a broad hint...
- Deleeuw suggests that Shakespeare seems to be making rather broad hints about the contradictory nature of the play in these initial scenes.
- But Philip Ashdown, the school's chairman of governors dropped a broad hint that Mrs White would be reinstated as head of the school.
- I think the notion of a retrial is a broad hint to him to leave Egypt and go abroad, but so far he has been too stubborn and principled to take such hints.
Synonyms
obvious, direct, plain, clear, unsubtle, explicit, straightforward, bald, clear-cut, manifest, patent, conspicuous, transparent, prominent, unmistakable, undisguised, unconcealed, overt, undeniable
3.2(Of a phonetic transcription) showing only meaningful distinctions in sound and ignoring minor details.It is the kind used in pronouncing dictionaries, and is referred to informally as broad transcription....
- The goal of a broad transcription is to record the phonemes that a speaker uses rather than the actual spoken variants of those phonemes that are produced.
- A broad transcription would also need to note the difference, because the two words mean different things.
4Somewhat coarse and indecent: the broad humour has been toned down...
- The humour is broad and robust, but underneath the comedy is delicately balanced with pathos.
- Northern Broadsides are experts at celebrating the broad humour present in all Shakespeare's plays, with some outstanding performances and impeccable comic timing.
- Some of the humour may be too broad for more sophisticated audiences, but overall this is a charming way to spend a couple of hours.
Synonyms
indecent, improper, coarse, unrefined, indelicate, ribald, risqué, racy, rude, spicy, suggestive, naughty, indecorous, off colour, earthy, smutty, dirty, filthy, vulgar, gross
informal blue, near the bone, near the knuckle
5(Of a regional accent) very noticeable and strong: the words had a distinct tang of broad Lancashire...
- A central strength in the production is that the local broad regional accent has been used to fine effect throughout, thus giving it an earthy and authentic ‘feel’.
- He has the pale, pasty set of the sedentary, a fleshy padding of indulgence and a deep, broad accent with an odd similarity to that of Charles Kennedy.
- You can see this sense of place in the parts she has played, a largely working-class roster of roles that allows her to keep her broad accent, an accent she says she never wants to lose.
Synonyms
noticeable, strong, thick, heavy, pronounced
noun North American informal
A woman: I get drunk, follow the pretty broads, and make a fool of myself...
- We listen to tough old broad Elaine Stritch belt out a song about tough old broads.
- I keep forgetting broads don't like it when you call them chicks.
- Honey - we may be crazy old broads, but we're not dead.
Phrases
broad in the beam
in broad daylight
Derivatives
broadness
/ noun ...- I think what you mostly gain getting education is this broadness that creeps into one's perspective of many things.
- Bill has an undeniable love for humanity, but the problem with this broadness is that it overlooks the details and he ends up hating a lot of actual people - and yeah, it's hatred.
- With no visible direction from above, the cast decide to amp up the volume and the broadness, but the results are more overbearing than energetic, more grotesque than funny.
Origin
Old English brād, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch breed and German breit.