wide

[ wahyd ]
See synonyms for: widewiderwidestwideness on Thesaurus.com

adjective,wid·er, wid·est.
  1. having considerable or great extent from side to side; broad: a wide boulevard.

  2. having a certain or specified extent from side to side: three feet wide.

  1. of great horizontal extent; extensive; vast; spacious: the wide plains of the West.

  2. of great range or scope; embracing a great number or variety of subjects, cases, etc.: wide experience.

  3. open to the full or a great extent; expanded; distended: to stare with wide eyes.

  4. apart or remote from a specified point or object: a guess wide of the truth.

  5. too far or too much to one side: a shot wide of the mark.

  6. Baseball. outside (def. 16):The pitch was wide of the plate.

  7. full, ample, or roomy, as clothing: He wore wide, flowing robes.

  8. Phonetics. lax1 (def. 7).

  9. British Slang. shrewd; wary.

adverb
  1. to the full extent of opening: Open your mouth wide.

  2. to the utmost, or fully: to be wide awake.

  1. away from or to one side of a point, mark, purpose, or the like; aside; astray: The shot went wide.

  2. over an extensive space or region, or far abroad: scattered far and wide.

  3. to a great, or relatively great, extent from side to side: The river runs wide here.

noun
  1. Cricket. a bowled ball that goes wide of the wicket, and counts as a run for the side batting.

  2. Archaic. a wide space or expanse.

Origin of wide

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English wīd; cognate with Dutch wijd,German weit,Old Norse vīthr

synonym study For wide

1. Wide, broad refer to dimensions. They are often interchangeable, but wide especially applies to things of which the length is much greater than the width: a wide road, piece of ribbon. Broad is more emphatic, and applies to things of considerable or great width, breadth, or extent, especially to surfaces extending laterally: a broad valley.

Other words for wide

Opposites for wide

Other words from wide

  • wideness, noun
  • o·ver·wide, adjective
  • o·ver·wide·ly, adverb
  • o·ver·wide·ness, noun
  • su·per·wide, adjective
  • ul·tra·wide, adjective

Other definitions for -wide (2 of 2)

-wide

  1. a combining form of wide, forming from nouns adjectives with the general sense “extending or applying throughout a given space,” as specified by the noun: communitywide; countrywide; worldwide.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use wide in a sentence

  • The other opened the door wider and at once bowed him in with a smile of genuine welcome.

    Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
  • In length there was no alteration, but the design seems more condensed, more compact, yet slightly wider in the opening.

    Antonio Stradivari | Horace William Petherick
  • The point where we stood—a huddled, shivering group—faced the wider channels that led to the open sea and Finland.

    Three More John Silence Stories | Algernon Blackwood
  • The scale was vaster, horizons wider, beauty and wonder walked hand in hand with love and death.

    The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
  • They were rowing down the channel of the wider portion of the creek towards Isabel's landing, their boat filled with spoil.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton

British Dictionary definitions for wide

wide

/ (waɪd) /


adjective
  1. having a great extent from side to side

  2. of vast size or scope; spacious or extensive

    • (postpositive) having a specified extent, esp from side to side: two yards wide

    • (in combination) covering or extending throughout: nationwide

  1. distant or remote from the desired point, mark, etc: your guess is wide of the mark

  2. (of eyes) opened fully

  3. loose, full, or roomy: wide trousers

  4. exhibiting a considerable spread, as between certain limits: a wide variation

  5. phonetics another word for lax (def. 4), open (def. 34)

adverb
  1. over an extensive area: to travel far and wide

  2. to the full extent: he opened the door wide

  1. far from the desired point, mark, etc

noun
  1. (in cricket) a bowled ball that is outside the batsman's reach and scores a run for the batting side

  2. archaic, or poetic a wide space or extent

  1. to the wide completely

Origin of wide

1
Old English wīd; related to Old Norse vīthr, Old High German wīt

Derived forms of wide

  • widely, adverb
  • wideness, noun
  • widish, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with wide

wide

In addition to the idioms beginning with wide

  • wide awake
  • wide open

also see:

  • all wool and a yard wide
  • cut a wide swath
  • far and wide
  • give a wide berth to
  • lay (oneself wide) open
  • leave (wide) open
  • off (wide of) the mark

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.