Broadway Meaning
/ˈbɹɔdweɪ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAn esplanade.
nameA street name, typically for a wide road: a specific broad way.
Sentence Examples
We're booked for the whole month on Broadway.
What kind of musicals are on Broadway right now?
CEFR Practice Quiz
She dreams of performing as a lead actress on ____ one day.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ is a very famous street in New York known for its many theaters.
Word Origin & History
By surface analysis, a proprialization from broadway. The Old English words "brad weg" have been used to name wide roads and associated settlements, in common noun and proper noun forms, for over a thousand years. Documented examples include Broadway, Somerset and Broadway, Worcestershire, England, which are listed in the Domesday Book census of 1086AD as "Bradewie" and "Bradeweia" respectively. Sense of “government of Manitoba” is from the address of the Manitoba Legislative Building, on Broadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Among the ensemble’s strange, outmoded, “original” instruments — the feral horns, sour violins, wooden flutes, cellos without endpins — she seemed right at home, despite her Broadway provenance."
— 2007 July 8, Jesse Green, “Let Her Entertain You. Please!”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 24 Nov 2020:
"“King Homer” follows the story of King Kong closely, with Mr. Burns taking the freakishly over-sized King Homer from his native Africa, where he lives proud as a simian god, to the United States, where he is an initially impressive but ultimately rather limited Broadway attraction."
— 2012 April 29, Nathan Rabin, “TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “Treehouse of Horror III” (season 4, episode 5; originally aired 10/29/1992)”, in The AV Club, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2013:
"Angry city councillors lashed out against both Broadway and Ottawa on Wednesday, claiming the Doer government and the Harper Conservatives are spending millions on infrastructure projects Winnipeg doesn't want and not enough on road repairs the city needs."
— 2009 June 25, “Verbal vent at city hall: Councillors attack province, feds on their infrastructure priorities”, in Winnipeg Free Press:
"Just above the doorway, which opened spang onto the broadway of Datura, a grinning face peered down upon the visitors, its eyes ruby-colored glass."
— 1962, Allen Kim Lang, Blind Man's Lantern:
"On a certain day the King was seated on the story of his palace which overlooked the town and the outskirts beyond the walls, in conversation with his Minister and favourites, when the Durweish was espied at no great distance standing on the broadway; which, when the King knew, he desired messengers might be dispatched to convey the holy man to his presence."
— 1917, Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, Observations on the Mussulmauns of India:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She dreams of performing as a lead actress on ____ one day.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
____ is a very famous street in New York known for its many theaters.