broaden

/ˈbrɔdn/

/ˈbrɔdɪn/

Other forms: broadened; broadening; broadens

To broaden something is to make it wider or more expansive. If you wake up feeling less than cheerful, the sight of the doughnuts your dad got for breakfast might broaden your smile.

Something can broaden literally, like a river that broadens as you hike beside it, growing wider as it flows south. Things also broaden figuratively, the way people's minds tend to broaden when they travel around the world and meet people from different cultures. In both cases, things that broaden expand and become more open.

Definitions of broaden

1. verb

   make broader
   “broaden the road”

   type of:

   extend, widen

   extend in scope or range or area
2. verb

   become broader
   “The road broadened”

   type of:

   increase

   become bigger or greater in amount
3. verb

   extend in scope or range or area
   “broaden your horizon”

   synonyms: extend, widen

   expand, extend

   expand the influence of

   types:

   territorialise, territorialize

   extend by adding territory

   globalise, globalize

   make world-wide in scope or application

   stretch

   extend the scope or meaning of; often unduly

   type of:

   increase

   make bigger or more
4. verb

   vary in order to spread risk or to expand
   synonyms: branch out, diversify

   type of:

   alter, change, vary

   become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence