broach /brəʊtʃ $ broʊtʃ/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Origin: broach 'to make a hole in, stab' (14-17 centuries) , from broach 'tool for making holes' (14-17 centuries) , from French broche ; ⇨ ↑ brooch ]
1 . broach the subject/question/matter etc to mention a subject that may be embarrassing or unpleasant or cause an argument:
I broached the subject of his past.
2 . to open a bottle or ↑ barrel containing wine, beer etc
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THESAURUS
▪ mention to talk or write about something or someone, usually quickly and without saying very much or giving details:
Kate had mentioned his name a few times, but I had not met him before.
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Jack mentioned that you might be looking for a new job.
▪ refer to somebody/something to say something about someone or something in a conversation, speech, or piece of writing:
He had earlier referred to difficulties in gathering evidence.
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It was not clear which case he was referring to.
▪ touch on something to briefly mention a subject during a speech, lesson, piece of writing etc:
This problem has already been touched on in Chapter 4.
▪ bring something up to start to talk about a particular subject during a conversation or meeting:
I didn’t want to bring up the subject of money.
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I knew you’d bring that up!
▪ raise to mention a subject that people should start to discuss or think about. Raise is more formal than bring something up :
He promised to raise the issue with the Prime Minister.
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They raised a number of points.
▪ broach to mention a subject that may be embarrassing or upsetting, or that may cause an argument:
I was reluctant to broach the subject of payment.
▪ cite formal to mention something as an example or proof of something else, or as a reason for something:
Hong Kong is often cited as an example of this kind of economic system.
▪ allude to something formal to mention something in a way that is deliberately not direct:
Many of the ancient Greek poets allude to this myth.