Broaden

//ˈbɹɑ.dn̩// name, verb

name, verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make broad or broader. transitive

    "broaden one’s knowledge"

  2. 2
    become broader wordnet
  3. 3
    To become broad or broader. intransitive

    "The roads gradually broadened as we drove into the countryside."

  4. 4
    make broader wordnet
  5. 5
    vary in order to spread risk or to expand wordnet
Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    extend in scope or range or area wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Old English.

Example

More examples

"Good movies broaden your horizons."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From broad + -en (verbal suffix).

Etymology 2

Perhaps a topographic surname for someone who lived in a broad valley, from Old English brād (“broad”) + dene (“valley”). Alternatively, it could be a variant of the surname Braden.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.