What does "broad" mean?
A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
Broad
/bɹɔːd/ adj, name, noun, slang
adj, name, noun, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
- Grammar: broad is listed as adj, name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: extensive, spacious, wide, a wide range.
- Useful contrasts: all-encompassing, comprehensive, focused.
- Usage evidence: The burglar broke into the post office in broad daylight.
How to use "broad"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "broad" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "broad" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "broad" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "broad" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "broad" is acting as adj, name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "extensive" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "broad", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk. UK
- 2 A prostitute, a woman of loose morals. US, dated
"“Now we go up Bowery Street look at broads. Me pay.”"
- 3 slang term for a woman wordnet
- 4 A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
- 5 A woman or girl. US, colloquial, dated, slang, sometimes
"They always hook you in the end, them broads. This whole trouble is on account of a dame reads a book."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 A British gold coin worth 20 shillings, issued by the Commonwealth of England in 1656. UK, historical
- 7 A kind of floodlight.
"[…] fresnel spotlights, old-type broads, sky-pans, cone-lights, etc."
- 8 A playing card. archaic, slang
"I reckon as old Sol couldn't ha' lived without a pack of broads. If he couldn't find anybody to play with him, he'd play alone, […]"
Adjective
- 1 Wide in extent or scope.
"three feet broad"
- 2 Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
"broad and open day"
- 3 Having a large measure of any thing or quality; unlimited; unrestrained.
"a broad mixture of falsehood"
- 4 Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
"The words in the Constitution are broad enough to include the case."
- 5 Plain; evident.
"a broad hint"
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 General rather than specific.
"to be in broad agreement"
- 7 Unsubtle; obvious.
"Lee: I wrote that line for you. Maeve: A bit broad, if you ask me."
- 8 Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
"as broad and general as the casing air"
- 9 Gross; coarse; indelicate. dated
"a broad compliment; a broad joke; broad humour"
- 10 Strongly regional.
"She still has a broad Scottish accent, despite moving to California 20 years ago."
- 11 Velarized, i.e. not palatalized.
Adjective
- 1 showing or characterized by broad-mindedness wordnet
- 2 lacking subtlety; obvious wordnet
- 3 broad in scope or content wordnet
- 4 not detailed or specific wordnet
- 5 being at a peak or culminating point wordnet
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 (of speech) heavily and noticeably regional wordnet
- 7 very large in expanse or scope wordnet
- 8 having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The burglar broke into the post office in broad daylight."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "broad"?
Common synonyms include: extensive, spacious, wide, a wide range, abstract, abstract math tools.
How do you use "broad" in a sentence?
The burglar broke into the post office in broad daylight.
How do you pronounce "broad"?
Pronounced /bɹɔːd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰer-der.? Proto-Germanic *braidaz Proto-West Germanic *braid Old English brād Middle English brod English broad From Middle English brood, brode, from Old English brād (“broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious”), from Proto-West Germanic *braid, from Proto-Germanic *braidaz (“broad, wide”), of uncertain origin. Cognates Cognate with Yola brode (“broad”), North Frisian bread, breeđ, briad, briid, briidj (“wide”), Saterland Frisian and West Frisian breed (“broad, wide”), Bavarian brad, broad (“broad, wide”), Central Franconian and Luxembourgish breet (“broad, wide”), Dutch breed (“broad, wide”), German breit (“broad, wide”), Vilamovian braat (“broad, wide”), Yiddish ברייט (breyt, “broad, wide”), Danish and Swedish bred (“broad, wide”), Faroese and Icelandic breiður (“broad, wide”), Norwegian Bokmål bred, brei (“broad, wide”), Norwegian Nynorsk brei, breid (“broad, wide”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 (braiþs, “broad, wide”).
Etymology 2
Early 20th century, apparent phono-semantic matching of German Braut (“bride”, also “girlfriend”, and more generally “broad, young woman”).