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broad Definition

broad (brôd)

adjective

  1. of large extent from side to side; wide
  2. having great extent or expanse; spacious broad prairies
  3. extending all about; clear; open; full broad daylight
  4. easy to understand; not subtle; obvious a broad hint
  5. strongly marked: said of dialects or accents
  6. coarse or ribald a broad joke
  7. tolerant; liberal to take a broad view of a matter
  8. wide in range; not limited a broad variety, a broad education
  9. main or general; not detailed in broad outline
  10. Phonet. pronounced with the tongue held low and flat in the mouth; open, esp. as the (ä) of father

Etymology: ME brod < OE brad; akin to Ger breit

adverb

in a broad manner; widely

noun

Slang a woman: sometimes considered offensive

broad Related Forms
broad′ly adverb broad′·ness noun
broad Synonyms

broad

modif.

  1. Physically wide

    wide, extended, large, extensive, ample, spacious, deep, expansive, immense, roomy, outspread, capacious, outstretched, thick, widespread, broad-gauged, full; see also deep 2, extensive 1, large 1.

    Antonyms narrow*, thin*, slender*, constricted.

  2. Extensive

    ubiquitous, all-inclusive, far-flung; see comprehensive, general 1, widespread.

  3. Culturally wide

    cultivated, experienced, cosmopolitan; see cultured.

  4. Tolerant

    progressive, open-minded, unbiased; see liberal 2.

  5. Indelicate

    dirty, off-color, suggestive, smutty; see lewd 1.

  6. Clear

    unequivocal, explicit, apparent; see obvious 2.

broad and wide both are applied to extent from side to side of surfaces having height or length, wide being preferred when the distance between limits is stressed two feet wide, a wide aperture, and broad, when the full extent of surface is considered broad hips, broad plains; deep, in this connection, refers to extent backward, as from the front or an opening a deep lot, a deep cave

broad Usage Examples

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • have: Gregory Hays has described the Greek concept of logos: The term has a semantic range so broad as to be almost untranslatable.

Modifies a noun

  • spectrum: Oliver advises on a broad spectrum of company law matters.
  • range: Regular film watching of a broad range of films greatly helps.
  • bean: Plant at the back: a line of broad beans; a line of garlic the onion; a line of peas.
  • daylight: No time, to see, in broad daylight, Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
  • context: That said, he would set out the broader context for manufacturing.
  • category: You will then be presented with a list of broad categories.

Used with adjective complement

  • build: The canal was to be built broad to take boats off the River Trent and River Soar.
  • offer: Work-based training for young people offer broad based vocational training and work experience.
  • have: He has broad ranging experience of dealing with cases of all types including injuries of the utmost severity.

Infinitive complement

  • include: At most 9 of the 60.5 posts were in the private commercial sector, defined at its broadest to include tourist facilities.
  • embrace: The definition needs to be broad enough to embrace these.

Modifying Another Word

  • fairly: This will be a fairly broad discussion; I will try not to deal in detail with the antiquarian background of any particular story.
  • overly: It would be overly broad to suggest that only those wills of sufficient wealth were proved there.
  • much: Gaelic is, however, relevant to a much broader range of posts, including many of a manual nature.
  • extraordinarily: University courses are very specialized, yet in certain respects they are also extraordinarily broad by British standards.
  • uniquely: The day will offer a uniquely broad commercially-oriented perspective on the potential for enhancing business effectiveness and competitiveness through the use of HLT.
  • very: At the North Cairn continue along the very broad ridge south.

Preposition: in

  • scope: Moon Lee's interview, meanwhile, is both shorter, at 18 minutes, and broader in scope, discussing her career overall.
  • nature: This meeting is deliberately broad in nature and aims to cover all uses of optical radiation in medicine.