broad /bröd/
adjective- Wide
- Large, spacious, free or open
- Widely diffused
- Covering a wide range, spectrum, etc
- Giving prominence to main elements, or harmony of the whole, without insisting on detail
- Slow and full-toned
- Strongly marked in pronunciation or dialect
- (of a vowel) open (phonetics)
- Outspoken, obvious, unsubtle
- Coarse, vulgar
- Having liberal mind or outlook
- (of money) denoting the less liquid categories (eg M2, M3, qqv under M (symbol)), such as that in an account, etc, realizable only with several months' notice
- The broad part
- (in East Anglia) a lake-like expansion of a river
- A broadpiece
- A woman or, sometimes, a prostitute (N Am offensive sl). Also adverb
broadˈen transitive verb and intransitive verb
To make or grow broad or broader
broadˈish adjective
broadˈly adverb
broadˈness noun
broadˈways or broadˈwise adverb
Breadthwise
broad arrow noun
A mark (
) used on government property, or generally
broadˈband adjective
- Across, involving, or designed to operate across, a wide range of frequencies (telecommunications)
- Capable of accommodating data from a variety of input sources, as voice, telephone, television, etc (computing)
broadˈ-based adjective
Including a wide range of opinions, subjects, political groups, etc
broad bean noun
A plant (Vicia faba) of the family Leguminosae, or one of its large flat edible seeds which grow in pods
broadˈbill noun
Any of several birds with a broad bill, such as the spoonbill, the scaup (US), or a member of the tropical family Eurylaimidae
broadˈ-brim noun
- A hat with a broad brim, such as those once worn by Quakers
- A Quaker (informal)
broadˈbrush adjective
- Rough
- Not worked out in detail (informal)
Broad Church noun
- A party within the Church of England favouring a broad and liberal interpretation of dogmatic definitions and creed subscription
- (esp without cap) a political or other group, party, etc that is similarly liberal-minded or all-inclusive
broadˈ-church adjective
broadˈcloth noun
A fine, fulled woollen or worsted cloth
broad day or broad daylight noun
Clear, open daylight
broadˈ-gauge see gauge
broad jump noun (N American)
Long jump
broadˈ-leaf noun
- Any broad-leaved tree
- Any tobacco plant with broad leaves
broadˈ-leaved adjective
- (esp in classifying types of tree) having broad leaves, not needles
- Deciduous, hardwood
broadˈloom adjective
(of carpet) woven on a wide loom
broad-mindˈed adjective
- Liberal
- Tolerant
broad-mindˈedly adverb
broad-mindˈedness noun
broadˈpiece noun
A 17c 20-shilling coin
Broad Scots (also formerly Scotch) noun
Older or dialect forms of the Scottish tongue, a development of Old English
broadˈsheet noun
- Any standard sheet of paper, unfolded and uncut
- A large sheet of paper printed usu on one side only, containing eg an advertisement or (historical) a proclamation, ballad, popular song, etc
- A newspaper of large format, measuring approx 40×60cm (about 16×24in)
- A quality newspaper
broadˈside noun
- The side of a ship
- All the guns on one side of a ship of war
- Their simultaneous discharge
- A strongly critical verbal attack
- A broadsheet
transitive verb
To hit or collide with the side of (N American)
broadˈ-spectrum adjective
Wide-spectrum
broadˈsword noun
- A cutting sword with a broad blade
- A man armed with such a sword
broadˈtail noun
- Fur prepared from the skin of very young karakul lambs
- A karakul sheep
broadˈway noun
A broad road, often the name of the chief thoroughfare of a town or district
as broad as it is long
Six of one and half a dozen of the other
gauge, also gage /gāj/
noun- A measuring apparatus
- A standard of measure
- A means of limitation or adjustment to a standard
- A measurement, such as the diameter of a wire, calibre of a tube, or width of a row of slates
- The distance between a pair of wheels or rails
- A means of estimate
- The width of film or magnetic tape
- (usu gage) the relative position of a ship to another vessel and the wind (see lee1, weather)
- To measure
- To estimate
- To adjust to a standard
To measure the contents of casks
gaugeˈable adjective
Capable of being gauged
gaugˈer noun
- A person who gauges
- A person who works in excise
gaugˈing noun
The measuring of casks holding excisable liquors
gauge boson noun (physics)
A type of particle that mediates the interaction between two fundamental particles
gauge glass noun
A tube to show height of water
gauge theory noun
Any one of the theories in particle physics that attempts to describe the various types of interaction between fundamental particles
gaugˈing-rod noun
An instrument for measuring the contents of casks
broad- or narrow-gauge
In railway construction, respectively greater or less than standard gauge, in Britain 1.435 metres (561/2 inches)