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