broadcast

1 of 4

verb

broad·​cast ˈbrȯd-ˌkast How to pronounce broadcast (audio)
broadcast also broadcasted; broadcasting

transitive verb

1
: to scatter or sow (seed or something similar) over a broad area
broadcasting seed
broadcasting fertilizer on a lawn
2
: to make widely known
A man who—make no mistake—cares deeply, but doesn't feel the need to broadcast it.Allison Glock
3
: to send out or transmit (something, such as a program) by means of radio or television or by streaming over the Internet
an event being broadcast live on television
Poker was first broadcast on television in 1993, but it wasn't until 2002 that the game became watchable.Josh Tyrangiel
… part of a campaign to get people to go online to a fashion show that was broadcast live over the Internet.David Noack

intransitive verb

1
: to transmit a broadcast
Among the group's claims to fame is that it was the first band to broadcast live over the Internet.John Markoff
2
: to speak or perform on a broadcast program
broadcaster noun

broadcast

2 of 4

noun

plural broadcasts
1
: a program that is broadcast on radio or television or over the Internet
listening to a radio broadcast
a live nationwide broadcast
2
: the act of transmitting sound or images by radio or television
the broadcast of court proceedings
Less than two years ago, the broadcast of digital television—from transmitter tower to home antenna—was considered to be science fiction.George Mannes
3
: a casting or scattering in all directions (as of seed from the hand in sowing)
… those of us who oppose the wanton broadcast of pesticides and inorganic fertilizers on lawn and garden …Maxine Kumin

broadcast

3 of 4

adjective

1
: cast or scattered in all directions
2
: made public by means of radio or television
3
: of or relating to radio or television broadcasting

broadcast

4 of 4

adverb

: to or over a broad area

Examples of broadcast in a Sentence

Verb The station broadcasts the symphony live every Friday night. The interview was broadcast from London. If you tell her anything about your personal life she'll broadcast it to everyone in the office. broadcast fertilizer on the lawn Noun Did you hear the broadcast of last night's game? The judge decided to allow broadcast of the trial.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The 2024 Indian Wells Open men’s tennis final will be broadcast today no earlier than 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Mar. 2024 Navalny’s team broadcast a live stream, narrating the day of protest, on his YouTube channel. Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024 The site notes that Google’s Find My Device feature currently works by having the device broadcast Bluetooth beacons which are then picked up by other Android devices that are within range of the broadcasting device. Emily Price, PCMAG, 17 Mar. 2024 The timepiece briefly appeared at the end of a video the Swiss watchmaker broadcasted before the official awards. Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 12 Mar. 2024 Grande was the last star to sit at the show's beginning, plopping into her seat with her flowing pink Giambattista Valli couture dress just as the giant onstage clock showed four seconds until broadcast. Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024 Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. John Brummett, arkansasonline.com, 6 Mar. 2024 On February 10 this year, the decomposing remains of six-year-old Hind Rajab were found, the shattering end to a search that began after her SOS call was broadcast by the Palestine Red Crescent. Hazlitt, 6 Mar. 2024 Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 96th Oscars will air live on ABC and broadcast to outlets worldwide on Sunday, March 10, at the new, earlier time of 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Paul Grein, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2024
Noun
The San Diego Padres are one of three former Bally teams for which MLB now handles broadcasts. Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 The new version of the program, originally hosted by comedian Jeff Foxworthy and appearing on Fox’s broadcast network, would rely on celebrity guests rather than children, according to these people. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 19 Mar. 2024 There were 873 fictional series produced for broadcast and streaming platforms in Europe in 2022 — the last year for which the EAO has data — up from 775 in 2021 and a new record, the group found. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Mar. 2024 Austin has created numerous graphics not only for our classroom broadcast, but for other clients outside of school. Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024 For those who couldn’t attend, the documentary will make its prime time broadcast debut at 7 p.m. Saturday on The CW, KFMB’s sister station. David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Mar. 2024 For much of the last decade, the CW network existed largely to to sell shows like Arrow, Riverdale, and All-American to Netflix, many of them becoming beloved by younger viewers who have no idea what a broadcast network even is. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 14 Mar. 2024 TikTok is more powerful than any broadcast network, thanks to its enormous size — 170 million Americans use it — and the stickiness of its algorithms. Kevin Roose, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Hulu is set to air the show’s broadcast exclusively, and the full taping of the ceremony is set to begin streaming on March 29. Charlotte Phillipp, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences has tapped broadcast journalist icon Dan Rather, as well as veteran network correspondents John Quiñones and David Martin to be inducted into its annual Gold Circle honor society. Michael Schneider, Variety, 29 Aug. 2023 The award, named for the legendary television journalist and presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association, recognizes broadcast and digital reporting across the nation. Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 16 Aug. 2023 No non-broadcast network has hit that record. Clayton Davis, Variety, 22 June 2022 Savannah Guthrie exits ‘Today’ mid-broadcast and tests positive for the coronavirus — again. Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2023 Kotb’s co-anchor, Savannah Guthrie, was also back in the studio Monday after exiting the show mid-broadcast last week and testing positive for COVID-19. Christi Carrasstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2023 The Resident co-creator and executive producer Amy Holden Jones and Matt Nix (Burn Notice) — who just signed a broadcast direct deal with Fox — are behind Archie & Pete, a buddy-cop drama whose logline reads a bit like a gender-reversed Bones. Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Feb. 2023 Other trends include pubcasters pushing and encouraging new viewing habits, like pre-broadcast. Liza Foreman, Variety, 17 Oct. 2022 Smith is Tuesday’s guest on the talk show, but a pre-broadcast clip of their duet with Clarkson is already taking our will-this-week-ever-end negativity and turning it into what can only be described as a can-do-anything attitude. Sandra Gonzalez, CNN, 11 Oct. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'broadcast.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1744, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1758, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Adjective

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

1743, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of broadcast was in 1743

Dictionary Entries Near broadcast

Cite this Entry

“Broadcast.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broadcast. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

broadcast

1 of 4 adjective
broad·​cast ˈbrȯd-ˌkast How to pronounce broadcast (audio)
1
: scattered in all directions
2
: made public by means of radio or television

broadcast

2 of 4 verb
broadcast also broadcasted; broadcasting
1
: to scatter or sow over a broad area
2
: to make widely known
a secret that I wouldn't want broadcast to the whole world
3
: to send out by radio or television
broadcaster noun

broadcast

3 of 4 adverb
: so as to spread far and wide

broadcast

4 of 4 noun
1
: the act of sending sound or images by radio or television
2
: a single radio or television program

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