broad
Pronunciation: (brôd), [key]
— adj., adv., n. -er, -est,
—adj.
- of great breadth: The river was too broad to swim across.
- measured from side to side: The desk was three feet broad.
- of great extent; large: the broad expanse of ocean.
- widely diffused; open; full: We awoke to broad daylight.
- not limited or narrow; of extensive range or scope: A modern doctor must have a broad knowledge of medicine.
- liberal; tolerant: A broad interpretation of the law tempers justice with mercy.
- main or general: the broad outlines of a subject.
- plain or clear: Her remark was a broad hint of her feelings.
- bold; plain-spoken.
- indelicate; indecent: He smirked at the broad joke.
- (of conversation) rough; countrified.
- unconfined; free; unrestrained: It was a hilarious evening of broad mirth.
- (of pronunciation) strongly dialectal: He wore kilts and had a broad Scots accent.
- (of a transcription) using one basic symbol to represent each phoneme.
- the a-soundwhen used in lieu of the more common a-soundin such words as half, can't, and laugh.
- bearing 90° to the heading of a vessel.
- bearing 45° to the heading of a vessel.
- bearing 135° to the heading of a vessel.
—adv.
- fully: He was broad awake.
—n.
- the broad part of anything.
-
- Usually Offensive.a woman.
- a promiscuous woman.
- Often,an incandescent or fluorescent lamp used as a general source of light in a studio.
- a gold coin of England and Scotland, issued by James I and Charles I and equal to 20 shillings. Cf. carolus, jacobus.
Broad
Pronunciation: (brôd), [key]
— n.
- 1887–1971, English philosopher.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.