broadside

1 of 4

noun

broad·​side ˈbrȯd-ˌsīd How to pronounce broadside (audio)
1
a(1)
: a sizable sheet of paper printed on one side
(2)
: a sheet printed on one or both sides and folded
b
: something (such as a ballad) printed on a broadside
2
archaic : the side of a ship above the waterline
3
a
: all the guns on one side of a ship
also : their simultaneous discharge
b
: a volley of abuse or denunciation
4
: a broad or unbroken surface

broadside

2 of 4

adjective

: directed or placed broadside
a broadside attack

broadside

3 of 4

adverb

1
a
: with the side forward or toward a given point : sideways
turned broadside
b
: directly from the side
the car was hit broadside
2
: in one volley
3
: at random

broadside

4 of 4

verb

broadsided; broadsiding; broadsides

transitive verb

: to hit broadside
the car was broadsided

Did you know?

Nautical language is both fascinating and fun, what with its jibbooms and spirketing, its scuppers and poop decks. As these four terms demonstrate, not all ship-related words sail over to landlubber vocabulary, but broadside is one that has. It originally referred to the side of a ship above the water, then later to the guns arrayed along that side. The further use of broadside to refer to the firing of all those guns at once eventually led to the figurative “volley of abuse” sense—a strongly worded attack intended to shiver one’s timbers. The printing-related uses of broadside, referring originally to sheets of paper, and then to matter printed on such paper, arose independently.

Examples of broadside in a Sentence

Adverb The car was hit broadside. one car hit the other broadside and crushed the passenger door Verb His car was broadsided by a truck as he was driving through the intersection.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Grabar’s broadside against parking is inspired by another book: The High Cost of Free Parking, a treatise on urban economics written in 2005 by the UCLA professor Donald Shoup. Max Holleran, The New Republic, 25 Apr. 2023 While 33 states, including Colorado and California, filed a joint complaint in federal court, Massachusetts and other states filed individual complaints in local courts, part of a sprawling legal broadside against the tech giant. Naomi Nix, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 The first candidate to attack Donald Trump this evening was Ron DeSantis, a broadside that came just 17 minutes into the debate. Annie Linskey, WSJ, 28 Sep. 2023 Gadsby set works by Picasso within a feminist critique that began with a blast of posters and broadsides produced by the Guerrilla Girls in the 1980s and 1990s. Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 12 Oct. 2023 Yet the deliberately provocative tone of Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s speech Tuesday – part of a comprehensive broadside on all immigration – risked obscuring the pertinence of one of her other core themes. Ned Temko, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Sep. 2023 As a broadside against fan culture, the series falls a little flat, but Fishback’s Dre is unforgettable: spectacularly awkward, believable, specific. Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2023 Pashinyan’s broadside was the latest in a series of moves signaling Armenia’s shift away from Moscow and toward Washington. Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2023 The group continued appealing to voters with the broadsides of the culture war. Emily Bazelon, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
Adjective
The buck stepped out of the thicket and offered him a broadside shot at 12 yards. Outdoor Life, 22 Nov. 2023 Reichert took the shot when the buck turned broadside and after a short wait, the hunter was gripping the antlers of a true giant. Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 1 Nov. 2023 But this is far more than daydreaming about a giant buck turning broadside. Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Oct. 2023 As the Honda turned left, it was struck broadside by the Mustang, police said. Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023 The ambulance was responding to a medical emergency when it was struck broadside by a civilian pickup truck at the corner of Van Nuys Boulevard and San Fernando Road around 12:35 a.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the LAFD. Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2023 For elk, pick a really tough bullet and if possible, pick broadside shots. Joseph Von Benedikt, Field & Stream, 3 Aug. 2023 Rally's most valuable asset − and the one that has the most investors − is a broadside copy of the Declaration of Independence, which is owned by around 4,000 individual investors and is trading right now at around $6 million. Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 3 Aug. 2023 That means broadside and quartering away shots only. Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2022
Verb
But officials had not anticipated a blaze that would ignite on the east side of the canyon, cross the Feather River and broadside the entire town, said Maranghides, who has written multiple case study reports on the fire. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023 Michael Filbert was working an overtime shift July 22, his first day back from injury leave after someone broadsided his cruiser five days earlier. oregonlive, 23 Aug. 2023 About 30 seconds later, the Volkswagen GTI broadsided the passenger side of a Nissan Altima headed east on Surfrider Way. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2023 Police said the collision occurred about 2:25 am when compact sedan westbound on Paradise Valley Road made a left turn toward Munda Road and was broadsided by an oncoming truck. Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2023 Hawthorn was driving his family to Michigan when a truck broadsided the car, killing his wife and 4-year-old daughter and seriously injuring three older children. Ryan Gabrielson, ProPublica, 25 Feb. 2023 Then came the pandemic, followed fast by Mr. Xi’s broadside against the technology industry. Shen Lu and Karen Hao, WSJ, 26 Oct. 2022 Reports said a driver traveling westbound on Laurel Road failed to yield at a stop sign at the West 130th Street intersection and was struck broadside by a driver traveling northbound on West 130th. Brian Lisik, cleveland, 26 July 2022 Almost no one is expecting any extras, so what better time to broadside your customers with them? Christopher Elliott, Washington Post, 29 June 2022 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'broadside.' 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

Noun

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective

1646, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1786, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of broadside was in 1591

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Dictionary Entries Near broadside

Cite this Entry

“Broadside.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broadside. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

broadside

1 of 2 noun
broad·​side ˈbrȯd-ˌsīd How to pronounce broadside (audio)
1
: the part of a ship's side above the waterline
2
: a firing of all of the guns that are on the same side of a ship
3
: a sheet of paper printed usually on one side (as an advertisement)
4
: a strongly worded attack
a broadside of criticism

broadside

2 of 2 adverb
1
: with one side forward : sideways
turned broadside
2
: from the side
hit the car broadside

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