breadth

noun

ˈbretth 

ˈbredth

nonstandard

ˈbreth 

1

: distance from side to side : width

the height, breadth, and depth of each piece of furniture

2

: something of full width

begin with a breadth of silk

3

a

: comprehensive quality : scope

the breadth of his learning

b

: liberality of views or taste

breadth of mind

breadthwise

ˈbretth-ˌwīz 

ˈbredth-

nonstandard ˈbreth-

adverb or adjective

Synonyms of breadth

• expansion
• expanse
• length
• stretch

Examples of breadth in a Sentence

We measured the height, breadth, and depth of each piece of furniture.

a great breadth of land awaited those who were brave and hardy enough to settle it

Recent Examples on the Web

Women now constitute roughly half of all matriculants, and the student body reflects the full demographic breadth of the country. —Robert Krasner, STAT, 1 June 2026

The emphasis moves toward depth over breadth, and consistency over spikes. —Stephanie Hind, Rolling Stone, 1 June 2026

Focus on expanding a foundational platform for AI rather than just breadth or number of isolated use cases in early scaling. —Ashwin Gaidhani, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026

As for agentic commerce, in Jain’s framing, only Google, Anthropic, and Bilt have the breadth of demand-side merchant integrations to power AI commerce in the physical world. —Lily Mae Lazarus, Fortune, 29 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English breadeth, breth, from brede breadth (from Old English brǣdu, from brād broad) + -th (as in lengthe length)

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing breadth

• hair's breadth
• the length and breadth of

Rhymes for breadth

• overbreadth

Kids Definition

breadth

noun

ˈbredth  ˈbretth 

ˈbreth

1

: distance from side to side : width

2

a

: something of full width

b

: a wide area

3

: scope entry 1 sense 2

breadth of knowledge