broad

[brawd] /brɔd/
adjective, broader, broadest.
1.
of great breadth:
The river was too broad to swim across.
2.
measured from side to side:
The desk was three feet broad.
3.
of great extent; large:
the broad expanse of ocean.
4.
widely diffused; open; full:
We awoke to broad daylight.
5.
not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope:
A modern doctor must have a broad knowledge of medicine.
6.
liberal; tolerant:
A broad interpretation of the law tempers justice with mercy.
7.
main or general:
the broad outlines of a subject.
8.
plain or clear:
Her remark was a broad hint of her feelings.
9.
bold; plain-spoken.
10.
indelicate; indecent:
He smirked at the broad joke.
11.
(of conversation) rough; countrified.
12.
unconfined; free; unrestrained:
It was a hilarious evening of broad mirth.
13.
(of pronunciation) strongly dialectal:
He wore kilts and had a broad Scots accent.
14.
Phonetics. (of a transcription) using one basic symbol to represent each phoneme.
15.
broad a, the a- sound
[ah] /ɑ/ (Show IPA) when used in lieu of the more common a- sound
[a] /æ/ (Show IPA) in such words as half, can't, and laugh.
adverb
16.
fully:
He was broad awake.
noun
17.
the broad part of anything.
18.
Slang.
  1. Usually Offensive. a term used to refer to a woman.
  2. a promiscuous woman.
19.
Often, broads. Movies, Television. an incandescent or fluorescent lamp used as a general source of light in a studio.
20.
a gold coin of England and Scotland, issued by James I and Charles I and equal to 20 shillings.
Compare carolus, jacobus.
Idioms
21.
broad on the beam, Nautical. bearing 90° to the heading of a vessel.
22.
broad on the bow, Nautical. bearing 45° to the heading of a vessel.
23.
broad on the quarter, Nautical. bearing 135° to the heading of a vessel.
Origin
before 1000; Middle English bro(o)d, Old English brād; cognate with Dutch breed, German breit, Old Norse breithr, Gothic braiths
Related forms
broadish, adjective
broadly, adverb
overbroad, adjective
Synonyms
1. See wide. 3. extensive, ample, vast. 5. liberal, open. 10. gross.
Antonyms
1. narrow.
Usage note
When used to refer to a woman, broad is usually perceived as insulting. The meaning “promiscuous woman” is probably the earlier sense.

Broad

[brawd] /brɔd/
noun
1.
C(harlie) D(unbar) 1887–1971, English philosopher.
Examples from the web for broad
  • The three principal forms of churchmanship are low church, broad church and high church.
  • Anthroposophy describes a broad evolution of human consciousness as follows.
  • Though his work was broad and rigorous, it did not bring him riches.
  • Culturally, green has broad and sometimes contradictory meanings.
  • With this sort of posture, it could only make short broad strides.
  • The name was received with broad approval among fans and the press.
  • It is a region of rolling hills and a broad plateau surface that extends into syria.
  • A variation on the propeller is to use many broad blades to create a fan.
  • Head the head should be broad with a pronounced stop and slightly pronounced brow.
  • With such a broad definition, many types of accounts might fit the definition of an sma.
British Dictionary definitions for broad

broad

/brɔːd/
adjective
1.
having relatively great breadth or width
2.
of vast extent; spacious: a broad plain
3.
(postpositive) from one side to the other: four miles broad
4.
of great scope or potential: that invention had broad applications
5.
not detailed; general: broad plans
6.
clear and open; full (esp in the phrase broad daylight)
7.
obvious or plain: broad hints
8.
liberal; tolerant: a broad political stance
9.
widely spread; extensive: broad support
10.
outspoken or bold: a broad manner
11.
vulgar; coarse; indecent: a broad joke
12.
unrestrained; free: broad laughter
13.
(of a dialect or pronunciation) consisting of a large number of speech sounds characteristic of a particular geographical area: a broad Yorkshire accent
14.
(finance) denoting an assessment of liquidity as including notes and coin in circulation with the public, banks' till money and balances, most private-sector bank deposits, and sterling bank-deposit certificates: broad money Compare narrow (sense 7)
15.
(phonetics)
  1. of or relating to a type of pronunciation transcription in which symbols correspond approximately to phonemes without taking account of allophonic variations
  2. broad a, the long vowel in English words such as father, half, as represented in the received pronunciation of Southern British English
16.
as broad as it is long, amounting to the same thing; without advantage either way
noun
17.
the broad part of something
18.
(slang, mainly US & Canadian)
  1. a girl or woman
  2. a prostitute
19.
(Brit, dialect) a river spreading over a lowland See also Broads
20.
(East Anglian, dialect) a shallow lake
21.
a wood-turning tool used for shaping the insides and bottoms of cylinders
adverb
22.
widely or fully: broad awake
Derived Forms
broadly, adverb
broadness, noun
Word Origin
Old English brād; related to Old Norse breithr, Old Frisian brēd, Old High German breit, Gothic braiths
Word Origin and History for broad
adj.

Old English brad "broad, flat, open, extended," from Proto-Germanic *braithaz (cf. Old Frisian bred, Old Norse breiðr, Dutch breed, German breit, Gothic brouþs), of unknown origin. Not found outside Germanic languages. No clear distinction in sense from wide. Related: Broadly. Broad-brim as a style of hat (1680s, broad-brimmed) in 18c.-19c. suggested "Quaker male" from their characteristic attire.

n.

"woman," slang, 1911, perhaps suggestive of broad (adj.) hips, but it also might trace to American English abroadwife, word for a woman (often a slave) away from her husband. Earliest use of the slang word suggests immorality or coarse, low-class women. Because of this negative association, and the rise of women's athletics, the track and field broad jump was changed to the long jump c.1967.

Slang definitions & phrases for broad

broad

noun
  1. A woman •Used almost entirely by men and considered offensive by many women: Sorry lady, no broads allowed in here/ So here was this suburban broad
  2. A promiscuous woman; prostitute

[1910+; probably from the notion ''broad in the beam'']


Idioms and Phrases with broad

broad

also see:
can't hit the broad side of a barn