broadadjective
uk/brɔːd/us/brɑːd/broad adjective (WIDE)
B1 very wide:
We walked down a broad avenue lined with trees.
He flashed a broad grin at us.
My brother is very broad-shouldered.
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narrow adjective
B1 If something is a particular distance broad, it measures this distance from side to side:
This river is over 500 metres broad at its widest point.
O'Connell Bridge in Dublin is famous for being broader than it is long.
More examples
- She gazed in admiration at his broad, muscular shoulders.
- Amy had a broad smile on her face.
- The broad avenues are shaded by splendid trees.
- He was about six feet tall with broad shoulders.
- A broad sweep of flat countryside stretched to the horizon in all directions.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Wide and thick
- squat
- stretch
- stretch the length of sth idiom
- stumpy
- thick
- wide
- width
- wingspan
broad adjective (GENERAL)
B1 including a wide range of things; general:
The politician gave a broad outline of his proposals.
The magazine covers a broad range of subjects, from sewing to psychology.
More examples
- If you read the minutes of the meeting, they'll give you a broad outline of what was discussed.
- She described the project in very broad brushstrokes.
- Security defined in the broadest sense of the term means getting at the root causes of trouble and helping to reduce regional conflicts.
- The book's success can be attributed to its broad appeal to readers of all ages.
- The film makers hoped to guarantee financial success by aiming the film at a broad audience.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
General
- abstract
- abstraction
- abstractly
- across-the-board
- all-purpose
- board
- generalist
- generally
- helicopter view
- impressionistic
- in all idiom
- large
- primarily
- principle
- sense
- simply
- substantially
- the big/bigger picture idiom
- thing
- whole
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broad adjective (STRONG)
If someone has a broad accent (= way of speaking), it is strong and noticeable, showing where they come from:
He spoke with a broad Australian accent.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Ways of speaking
- accent
- accentuate
- aitch
- asperity
- BBC English
- breathe
- cut glass
- get your tongue around/round sth idiom
- intone
- lenis
- modulate
- monotone
- plummy
- pragmatics
- singsong
- soft-spoken
- sotto voce
- speech therapy
- spoken
- trip off the tongue idiom
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broad adjective (INFORMATION)
broad hint
a hint (= when you tell someone something without saying it directly) that is easy to understand
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Easiness and simplicity
- (as) easy as pie/ABC/anything/falling off a log idiom
- at the push of a button idiom
- at the stroke of a pen idiom
- be (all) downhill idiom
- be child's play idiom
- breeze
- convincing
- foolproof
- friendly
- gift
- gimme
- give/hand sth to sb on a (silver) platter idiom
- painless
- rocket science
- sail
- sail through (sth)
- sb could do sth with one arm/hand tied behind his/her back idiom
- self-explanatory
- semi-skilled
- simple
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broadness
noun [ U ] uk/ˈbrɔːd.nəs/us/ˈbrɑːd.nəs/
She was struck by the broadness of his back.
Idiom(s)
broad in the beam
in broad daylight
broadnoun [ C ]
uk/brɔːd/us/brɑːd/US offensivea woman
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Kinds of women
- a damsel in distress idiom
- adult
- amazon
- auntie
- bachelorette
- cougar
- councilwoman
- dame
- damsel
- dolly bird
- homemaker
- housewife
- ingénue
- Jezebel
- ladette
- sheila
- slattern
- temptress
- tigress
- wallflower
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