| 释义 |
broad
I. \ˈbrȯd\ adjective
(-er/-est)
Etymology: Middle English brood, from Old English brād; akin to Old High German breit broad, Old Norse breithr, Gothic braiths
1.
a. : marked by ample extent from side to side or by relatively large distance between sides or limits : not narrow
< broad pen strokes >
< broad shoulders >
< broad streets >
< broad fields >
b. : having extension from side to side of a specified dimension
< 10 feet broad >
2. : extending far and wide : spacious
< the broad sea >
< the broad western plains >
3.
a. : clear, open, full
< a crime committed in broad daylight >
b. : patent, unmistakable, plain
< a broad hint >
4. : marked by lack of restraint, delicacy, or subtlety:
a. obsolete : outspoken
< from broad words … Macduff lives in disgrace — Shakespeare >
b. : coarse
< a term thought a little too broad for a radio program >
< merry tales and broad jests >
: indelicate, risqué
< broad burlesque humor >
5.
a. : marked by a generous wide-ranging breadth or tolerance : not parochial
< a man of broad views and interests >
< broad sympathies that knew no barrier of race or creed >
b. : widely applicable : not limited or restricted : general
< a broad rule, not to be narrowly construed >
< used the word in its broad sense >
6.
a. : relating to or having to do with the main, essential, or general aspects (as of a problem)
< scientific knowledge in its broad outlines — Bertrand Russell >
< achieved broad agreement on the issue, leaving details to be settled by subordinates >
b. of a library classification : having relatively large subdivisions — compare close
7. often capitalized : marked by Broad Church attitudes or practices : liberal : not meticulous about niceties of ritual and dogma
8. of a coin : having a large diameter and small thickness
9. of a sailing course : with the wind nearly abeam
10. : of markedly dialectal nature especially in pronunciation
< a broad North Country accent >
11. of texiles : woven wide; especially : woven in widths (as greater than 30 inches) suitable for clothing and decorating uses — compare : narrow
12. phonetics
a. of a vowel : open — used specifically of a (alone or as a member of a digraph) pronounced with a vowel sound that has or approaches the quality of the a in father, calm, par and especially in a class of words (as ask, laugh) in which the pronunciation is \a\ or \aa(ə)\ in most United States speech outside of eastern New England
b. in certain Celtic languages
(1) of a vowel : back
(2) of a consonant : having the allophone that characterizes it when it is pronounced with a back vowel
13. : characterized by demand and supply for large blocks of securities or by participation by many customers — used of the market for a security or the market as a whole
14.
a. of wool : straight-fibered and nonelastic : coarser than usual for the type in question
b. of bran : consisting of flakes or nearly whole husks
15. of pronunciation transcription
a. : phonemic
b. : representing by distinct nondiacritical symbols all qualitatively and phonemically distinct sounds — compare narrow
16. of a radio circuit : having a slowly varying response to different frequencies — opposed to sharp
17. of insurance coverage : covering two or more related risks
Synonyms:
broad, deep, and wide may all refer to horizontal expansion or dimension. broad and wide are often interchangeable
< broad and wide fields >
< to the broad ocean and the azure heavens — William Wordsworth >
< view the ocean wide and bright — William Wordsworth >
wide is more common than broad when units of measurement are mentioned
< rugs eight feet wide >
and when unfilled space between limits is being considered
< a wide doorway >
When no vertical measurement or measurement from a surface downward is likely to be involved, all three words may be used to indicate extent away from the observer
< a wide, broad, or deep flower garden >
deep is likely to apply to distance extending straight back from a point considered at the front; broad and wide to lateral distances
< that called on Hertha in deep forest glades — S.T.Coleridge >
< high on a broad unfertile tract of forest-skirted down — William Wordsworth >
< that we might look into a forest wide — John Keats >
II. adverb
Etymology: Middle English broode, from Old English brāde, from brād broad — more at broad I
: broadly, widely — now used chiefly in phrases
< broad awake >
< broad off >
III. noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English brood, from brood, adjective — more at broad I
1. : the broad or flat part of something (as the hand)
2. Britain : an expansion of a river — often used in plural
< the Norfolk broads >
3. : broadpiece
4. broads plural, slang : playing cards
5. slang
a. : woman
b. : prostitute
6. [from abroad (I), taken as containing the indefinite article a] dialect : journey, trip
< must give up your broad … for I want to have rails right away — Southern Literary Messenger >
7. : broadside 6 |