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Wide Very Common

Wide has 14 different meanings across 2 categories:

Adjective · Adverb

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

"The bowler delivered such a wild overhand throw that the umpire immediately signaled a wide, adding another run to our total."

"The wide was filled with sand and seaweed after the tide went out."

Adjective
1

having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other

"wide roads"

"a wide necktie"

"wide margins"

"three feet wide"

"a river two miles broad"

"broad shoulders"

"a broad river"

2

broad in scope or content

"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"

"granted him wide powers"

3

(used of eyes) fully open or extended

"stared with wide eyes"

4

very large in expanse or scope

"a broad lawn"

"the wide plains"

"a spacious view"

"spacious skies"

5

great in degree

"won by a wide margin"

6

having ample fabric

"the current taste for wide trousers"

"a full skirt"

7

not on target

"the kick was wide"

"the arrow was wide of the mark"

"a claim that was wide of the truth"

8

Having a large physical extent from side to side.

"The wide river made it difficult for us to find a safe place to cross."

In plain English: Wide means having a large distance from side to side.

"The road became so wide that two large trucks could drive side by side without any trouble."

Usage: Use "wide" to describe objects or spaces that have a great distance between opposite sides, such as a wide river or a wide doorway. It is often confused with the adverbial form "widely," which describes how an action occurs rather than physical dimensions.

Adverb
1

with or by a broad space

"stand with legs wide apart"

"ran wide around left end"

2

to the fullest extent possible

"open your eyes wide"

"with the throttle wide open"

3

far from the intended target

"the arrow went wide of the mark"

"a bullet went astray and killed a bystander"

4

to or over a great extent or range; far

"wandered wide through many lands"

"he traveled widely"

5

extensively

"The detective investigated the case widely, interviewing dozens of witnesses across multiple states to uncover new clues."

In plain English: You do something widely when you spread it out over a large area or many different places.

"The search was too wide to find anything useful."

Example Sentences
"The road became so wide that two large trucks could drive side by side without any trouble." adj
"The search was too wide to find anything useful." adv
"The wide was filled with sand and seaweed after the tide went out." noun
Related Terms
Antonyms

Origin

The word "wide" comes from the Old English wīd, which originally meant vast, broad, or distant. Its roots trace back to a Proto-Indo-European concept involving division and separation, suggesting an ancient sense of things being spread apart.

Rhyming Words
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