I. ˈwīd adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English wid, wide, from Old English wīd; akin to Old High German wīt wide, large, Old Norse vīthr; probably all from a prehistoric West Germanic-North Germanic compound formed from components represented by Old English with against, towards, opposite and Gothic iddja he went — more at with , issue
1.
a. : having or covering great extent : spacious , vast
the whole wide world
wide seas
wide cottonfields
a wide agricultural and dairying area — American Guide Series: Michigan
b. : extending over, reaching, or affecting a vast area : far-spreading : extensive
large windows … commanded a wide sweep of the far ravine slopes — Victor Canning
a painter of wide reputation
wide publicity
satisfy your widest ambition — William Osler
c. : extending throughout or covering a specified area or scope — often used in combination
city- wide
nation wide
a world wide problem
industry- wide bargaining
d. : having a large scope or range : covering, including, or allowing great variety or breadth : not limited : comprehensive , all-inclusive
a wide assortment
wide experience
insurance with wide coverage
historical works addressed to a very wide public — G.M.Trevelyan
far too wide a query to be dealt with — Guy Eden
e. : marked by breadth and tolerance : not limited or constrained by parochialism or prejudice : liberal , broad
the utmost desire to be wide and impartial — John Galsworthy
a statesman of wide views
f. : ample , roomy
a national taste for wide trousers
2.
a. : having extension from side to side of a specified dimension
3 feet wide
a mile- wide lake
a trail one man wide
piled in tiers 4 cans wide
b. : having much distance or extent between the sides : large in breadth relative to its length or to others of its kind : not narrow : broad
a wide road
a wide arch
the widest part of a river
a horse with a wide muzzle
brawny girls, wide as they were tall — Truman Capote
c. : opened, expanded, or stretched apart to the fullest extent
wide nostrils
stared with wide eyes
— often used postpositively
greeted him with arms wide
d. : lax III 4
3.
a. : extending a considerable distance between limits
wide variations in ability among students
the wide difference in their stations in life — T.B.Costain
b. : having or showing a great difference or fluctuation between the highest and lowest levels (as of prices quoted or bid and asked on an exchange)
a wide drop in hog prices
a need to provide for wider operating margins in a business
c.
(1) archaic : distant from a specified place — used with of
thirty miles wide of the place appointed — Jonathan Swift
(2) archaic : different or divergent from something specified — used with of
examine whose notions are widest of the common road — George Berkeley
(3) : straying or deviating from something specified — used with of
far wide of reality — Lucien Price
(4) obsolete : missing the truth : wrong , incorrect
he was a little wide there — Elkanah Settle
(5) obsolete : mentally unsound : delirious
still, still far wide — Shakespeare
(6) : far off the intended course : away from the point aimed at
a wide arrow
pitched four wide balls
a wide shot
— used often in the expression wide of the mark
nothing could be more ludicrously wide of the mark — F.R.Leavis
4. of an animal ration : relatively rich in carbohydrate as compared with protein — compare narrow
5. slang Britain
a. : wide-awake , sophisticated
b. : characterized by clever but ethically questionable behavior : sharp
a good fellow so long as you watched out for yourself … a wide man — Robert Westerby
Synonyms: see broad
II. adverb
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wīde, from wīd, adjective, wide
1.
a. : over a great distance or extent : far , widely
wandered wide through many lands
— used often in the phrase far and wide
searched far and wide
b. : over a specified distance, area, or extent
expanded the business country- wide within a few years
2.
a. : so as to leave much space or distance between
told to stand with legs wider apart
b. : so as to move apart or away
shaking wide thy yellow hair — P.B.Shelley
c. : so as to pass at or clear by a considerable distance
ran wide around left end for a 10-yard gain
3. : to the fullest extent : completely
opened her eyes wide
spread the map wide
— often used as an intensive with open
a wide -open window
the wide -open spaces
a locomotive running with the throttle wide open
left himself wide open to criticism
4.
a. : so as to pass to the side of or away from the intended course or miss the aim or objective : astray
the bullet went wide
drove wide of the green on the short sixth hole
b. chiefly dialect : at a considerable distance : far — often used with of
lying … wide of all other forts — George Washington
III. noun
or wide ball
( -s )
: a bowled ball in cricket that is delivered so high or wide of the wicket as to be out of the striker's reach, that does not count in the over unless hit, and that counts one run unless otherwise scored from — compare extra 1c