Widen
/ˈwaɪdn̩/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo become wide or wider.
verbTo make wide or wider.
Sentence Examples
Television helps us widen our knowledge.
They're trying to widen the road to the village.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
None
Antonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The city council plans to ____ the main road from two lanes to four lanes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The city is planning to ____ the main street to reduce the amount of traffic and improve the flow through the center today.
Word Origin & History
PIE word *dwóh₁ From wide + -en (verbal suffix).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The widening works include the rebuilding of the skew bridge near Northwood to take four tracks, and to enable the Rickmansworth Road to be widened to 60 ft.; […]."
— 1959 November 26, “Notes and News: Harrow-Rickmansworth Widening”, in Railway Magazine, page 802:
"But he still saw his side produce a rousing display which owed much to their lauded prowess from set-pieces, despite Uefa regulations meaning the pitch had to be widened and, in the process, the run-up area for Delap's long throws reduced."
— 2011 September 29, Tom Rostance, “Stoke 2 - 1 Besiktas”, in BBC Sport:
"While the primary focus of the Sexual Orientation Committee had been to lobby for gay rights legislation, the new Task Force hopes to widen its activities. The Task Force ― in addition to lobbying — hopes to function as an "umbrella organization," facilitating communication between the state's many gay groups."
— 1976 December 18, “Connecticut Task”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 25, page 2:
"Correspondent Gerardo Arreola interviewed Castro Espín for the Jan. 9, 2006, issue of La Jornada about the move to widen rights for transsexuals."
— 2007 August 6, Leslie Feinberg, “Cuba's CENESEX proposes ground-breaking transsexual rights”, in Workers World:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The city council plans to ____ the main road from two lanes to four lanes.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The city is planning to ____ the main street to reduce the amount of traffic and improve the flow through the center today.