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broad (brôd)
Share: broad
adj. broad·er, broad·est
1. Wide in extent from side to side: a broad river; broad shoulders.
2. Large in expanse; spacious: a broad lawn.
3. Having a certain width from side to side: A sidewalk three feet broad.
4. Full; open: broad daylight.
5. Covering a wide scope; general: a broad rule.
6. Liberal; tolerant: had broad views regarding social services.
7. Relating to or covering the main facts or the essential points: a plan presented in broad outline.
8. Plain and clear; obvious: gave us a broad hint to leave.
9. Vulgar; ribald: a broad joke.
10. Strikingly regional or dialectal: a broad Southern accent.
11. Linguistics Pronounced with the tongue placed low and flat and with the oral cavity wide open, like the a in father.
n.
1. A wide flat part, as of one's hand.
2. Offensive Slang A woman or girl.
adv.
Fully; completely.

[Middle English brod, from Old English brād.]

broadly adv.
broadness n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

 

 

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