What does "wide" mean?
A ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score
Wide
/waɪd/ adj, adv, noun, slang
adj, adv, noun, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score
- Grammar: wide is listed as adj, adv, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: broad, extensive, spacious, aberrant.
- Useful contrasts: long, narrow, scrawny.
- Usage evidence: What you say is quite wide of the mark.
How to use "wide"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wide" 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 "wide" 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 "wide" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wide" 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 "wide" is acting as adj, adv, 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 "broad" 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 "wide", 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 ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score
Adjective
- 1 Having a large physical extent from side to side.
"We walked down a wide corridor."
- 2 Large in scope.
"The inquiry had a wide remit."
- 3 Overweight, obese. derogatory, humorous, slang
- 4 Operating at the side of the playing area.
"That team needs a decent wide player."
- 5 On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.
"Two balls before lunch, he bowled a wide."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the organs in the mouth. dated
- 7 Vast, great in extent, extensive. Northern-England, Scotland, archaic
"The wide, lifeless expanse."
- 8 Located some distance away; distant, far. obsolete
"Mr Hunt's house, you know, lies wide from Harlowe-place."
- 9 Far from truth, propriety, necessity, etc. obsolete
"And I trust anon by the help of an infallible guide, to perfect such Prutenic tables, as shall mend the astronomy of our wide expositors."
- 10 Of or supporting a greater range of text characters than can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.
"a wide character; a wide stream"
- 11 Sharp-witted. British, slang
"But the first visitor to penetrate from the outside world proved to be Sergeant Williams; large and pink and scrubbed-looking; and for a little while Grant forgot about battles long ago and considered wide boys alive today."
Adjective
- 1 not on target wordnet
- 2 having ample fabric wordnet
- 3 broad in scope or content wordnet
- 4 very large in expanse or scope wordnet
- 5 (used of eyes) fully open or extended wordnet
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other wordnet
- 7 great in degree wordnet
Adverb
- 1 extensively
"He travelled far and wide."
- 2 completely
"He was wide awake."
- 3 away from or to one side of a given goal
"The arrow fell wide of the mark."
- 4 So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.
"And with his knee the dore he opens wide"
Adverb
- 1 to or over a great extent or range; far wordnet
- 2 with or by a broad space wordnet
- 3 far from the intended target wordnet
- 4 to the fullest extent possible wordnet
Example
"What you say is quite wide of the mark."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "wide"?
Common synonyms include: broad, extensive, spacious, aberrant, abroad, abstract.
How do you use "wide" in a sentence?
What you say is quite wide of the mark.
How do you pronounce "wide"?
Pronounced /waɪd/.
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From Middle English wid, wyd, from Old English wīd (“wide, vast, broad, long; distant, far”), from Proto-Germanic *wīdaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weydʰh₁- (“to divide, separate”), a dissimilated univerbation from *dwi- (“apart, asunder, in two”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to do, put, place”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian widj (“wide”), Saterland Frisian wied (“wide”), West Frisian wiid (“broad; wide”), Central Franconian weck, weit, wick, wiet (“distant, far, wide”), Dutch wijd (“wide; large; broad”), German weit (“far; wide; broad”), Luxembourgish weit (“wide”), wäit (“far”), Yiddish ווײַט (vayt, “distant, far”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vid (“wide”), Faroese and Icelandic víður (“wide”); also Breton gwez (“trees”), Cornish gwedh, gwëdh, gwydh, gwÿdh (“trees”), Irish and Scottish Gaelic fiodh (“timber, wood”), Manx fuygh (“timber, wood”), Welsh gwŷdd (“trees”), Latin dīvidō (“to divide, separate”), Latgalian vyds (“middle”), Latvian vidus (“center, middle”), Lithuanian vidùs (“interior, inside; inward”), Tocharian A and Tocharian B wätk- (“to distinguish, separate”). Related to widow.