broad
adjective/brɔːd/
(comparative broader, superlative broadest)
Word Family
- broad adjective
- broadly adverb
- broaden verb
- breadth noun
Слово англійською: broad
Переклад broad українською: широ́кий
Детальний опис
- wide
- a broad street/avenue/river
- He's got broad shoulders.
- He is tall, broad and muscular.
- a broad smile/grin (= one in which your mouth is stretched very wide because you are very pleased)
- used after a measurement of distance to show how wide something is
- The wardrobe stands one metre broad and two metres high.
- including a great variety of people or things
- a broad range of products
- The course caters for a broad spectrum of interests.
- There is broad support for the government's policies.
- She took a broad view of the duties of being a teacher (= she believed her duties included a wide range of things).
- a broad and balanced curriculum
- We must ensure the project is of advantage to the broader community and does not just benefit a few individuals.
- The promotion helped the company reach a much broader audience.
- [only before noun] general; not detailed
- the broad outline of a proposal
- The negotiators were in broad agreement on the main issues.
- She's a feminist, in the broadest sense of the word.
- In broad terms, the paper argues that each country should develop its own policy.
- Computer viruses fall into three broad categories.
- It is useful to examine this issue in a broader historical context.
- The charges should be dismissed because the law is too broad and vague.
- covering a wide area
- a broad expanse of water
- the broad plains of the American West
- if somebody has a broad accent (= a way of pronouncing the words of a language), you can hear very easily which area they come from synonym strong
- a broad Yorkshire accent
- if somebody gives a broad hint, they make it very clear what they are thinking or what they want
- (North American English) dealing with sex in a way that makes people laugh
- The movie mixes broad humor with romance.
wide
wide range
general
land/water
accent
hint
humour
Word OriginOld English brād, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch breed and German breit.
Idioms
a broad church
- (British English) an organization that accepts a wide range of opinions synonym big tent
- The party aims to be a broad church with members from all sections of society.
Which Word? wide / broadwide / broadThese adjectives are frequently used with the following nouns:
| wide ~ | broad ~ |
|---|---|
| street | shoulders |
| river | back |
| area | smile |
| range | range |
| variety | agreement |
| choice | outline |
- Wide is the word most commonly used to talk about something that measures a long distance from one side to the other. Broad is more often used to talk about parts of the body. (Although wide can be used with mouth.) It is used in more formal or written language to describe the features of the countryside, etc:
- a broad river
- a broad stretch of meadowland.
- Both wide and broad can be used to describe something that includes a large variety of different people or things:
- a wide/broad range of products.
- All of us are in broad agreement on this matter.
(in) broad daylight
- (in) the clear light of day, when it is easy to see
- The robbery occurred in broad daylight, in a crowded street.
it’s as broad as it’s long
- (British English, informal) it makes no real difference which of two possible choices you makeTopics Preferences and decisionsc2
paint something with a broad brush
- to describe something in a general way, ignoring the details