broad Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun slang term for a woman
    • a broad is a woman who can throw a mean punch
  2. adjective having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other
    wide.
    • wide roads
    • a wide necktie
    • wide margins
    • three feet wide
    • a river two miles broad
    • broad shoulders
    • a broad river
  3. adjective satellite broad in scope or content
    wide; across-the-board; blanket; all-encompassing; encompassing; all-inclusive; all-embracing; extensive; panoptic.
    • across-the-board pay increases
    • an all-embracing definition
    • blanket sanctions against human-rights violators
    • an invention with broad applications
    • a panoptic study of Soviet nationality"- T.G.Winner
    • granted him wide powers
  4. adjective satellite not detailed or specific
    unspecific.
    • a broad rule
    • the broad outlines of the plan
    • felt an unspecific dread
  5. adjective satellite lacking subtlety; obvious
    unsubtle.
    • gave us a broad hint that it was time to leave
  6. adjective satellite being at a peak or culminating point
    full.
    • broad daylight
    • full summer
  7. adjective satellite very large in expanse or scope
    spacious; wide.
    • a broad lawn
    • the wide plains
    • a spacious view
    • spacious skies
  8. adjective satellite (of speech) heavily and noticeably regional
    • a broad southern accent
  9. adjective satellite showing or characterized by broad-mindedness
    liberal; large-minded; tolerant.
    • a broad political stance
    • generous and broad sympathies
    • a liberal newspaper
    • tolerant of his opponent's opinions

WordNet

Broad adjective
Etymology
OE. brod, brad, AS. brad; akin to OS. bred, D. breed, G. breit, Icel. breir, Sw. & Dan. bred, Goth. braids. Cf. Breadth.
Wordforms
comparative Broader ; superlative Broadest
Definitions
  1. Wide; extend in breadth, or from side to side; -- opposed to narrow; as, a broad street, a broad table; an inch broad.
  2. Extending far and wide; extensive; vast; as, the broad expanse of ocean.
  3. Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full. "Broad and open day." Bp. Porteus.
  4. Fig.: Having a large measure of any thing or quality; not limited; not restrained; -- applied to any subject, and retaining the literal idea more or less clearly, the precise meaning depending largely on the substantive.
    A broad mixture of falsehood. Locke.
    Hence: -
  5. Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
    The words in the Constitution are broad enough to include the case. D. Daggett.
    In a broad, statesmanlike, and masterly way. E. Everett.
  6. Plain; evident; as, a broad hint.
  7. Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
    As broad and general as the casing air. Shak.
  8. (Fine Arts) Characterized by breadth. See Breadth.
  9. Cross; coarse; indelicate; as, a broad compliment; a broad joke; broad humor.
  10. Strongly marked; as, a broad Scotch accent. ✍ Broad is often used in compounds to signify wide, large, etc.; as, broad-chested, broad-shouldered, broad-spreading, broad-winged.
    It is as broad as long, whether they rise to others, or bring others down to them. L'Estrange.
    Syn. -- Wide; large; ample; expanded; spacious; roomy; extensive; vast; comprehensive; liberal.
Broad noun
Definitions
  1. The broad part of anything; as, the broad of an oar.
  2. The spread of a river into a sheet of water; a flooded fen. Local, Eng. Southey.
  3. A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders. Knight.

Webster 1913