broadside

noun

broad·side | \ ˈbrȯd-ˌsīd

Definition of broadside

(Entry 1 of 4)

1a(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

3a : 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

adjective

Definition of broadside (Entry 2 of 4)

: directed or placed broadside a broadside attack

broadside

adverb

Definition of broadside (Entry 3 of 4)

1a : 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

verb

broadsided; broadsiding; broadsides

Definition of broadside (Entry 4 of 4)

transitive verb

: to hit broadside the car was broadsided

Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about broadside

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Synonyms for broadside

Synonyms: Adverb

crabwise, edgeways [chiefly British], edgewise, sideways, sidewise

Did You Know?

Noun

What do sheets of printed paper and a ship's artillery have in common? Not a whole lot besides their broadsides. The printing and naval senses of broadside arose independently in the 16th century. Printed broadsides may have first been decrees intended for public posting, so they were necessarily printed on one side of large sheets of paper. Soon even matters printed on one side of smallish sheets were called broadsides - advertisements, for example, or the so-called "broadside ballads," popular ditties that people stuck on the wall to sing from. In the nautical sense, broadside was originally the entire side of a ship above the water - which is where the guns were placed. The further use of broadside to refer to firing of the guns eventually led to the figurative "volley of abuse" sense.

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

Now comes a presidential broadside against Britain's National Health Service – and Britons, by and large, are having none of it. — Laura King, latimes.com, "Trump stirs a hornet's nest in Britain by blasting its National Health Service," 5 Feb. 2018 Imagine if the state launched a broadside against the New York City public-school system because many of its students are failing. — Elya Brudny And Yisroel Reisman, WSJ, "New York State Targets Jewish Schools," 13 Dec. 2018 In late November, The Washington Post came out with an emphatic anti-Furby broadside: What is a Furby? — Adi Robertson, The Verge, "Furby hell: this week in tech, 20 years ago," 24 Nov. 2018 President Donald Trump cast blame on the media for fomenting anger in society, while candidates across the country traded partisan broadsides. — Jonathan Lemire, The Seattle Times, "A short-lived call for unity shelved for political barbs," 26 Oct. 2018 There could be efforts by progressive Democrats to demand votes to rebuke the president or serve as a broadside to his comments. — Chad Pergram, Fox News, "Dem Civil War: Fury over Trump summit threatens to expose new party divisions," 19 July 2018 Over a pair of Fox News interviews, Giuliani also unleashed a series of provocative broadsides. — Washington Post, "Giuliani becomes aggressive new face of Trump legal team," 4 May 2018 Fahrenheit 11/9 is pegged to the election of Trump, but tackles so much more Fahrenheit 11/9 is a sweeping broadside against Trump, to be sure — not an original approach in documentary filmmaking these days. — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, "In Fahrenheit 11/9, Michael Moore spares no one — especially self-satisfied liberals," 7 Sep. 2018 The broadsides have been mimicked by politicians and others running for elected office around the country, and parroted by foreign leaders around the world, many with poor human rights records and reputations. — The Washington Post, NOLA.com, "Trump admits he attacks press to discredit them: Lesley Stahl," 23 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Many of them exited high school into a world short on middle-skill job opportunities, only to be broadsided by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. — Jeanna Smialek, The Seattle Times, "Millennial men leave perplexing hole in hot US job market," 20 Nov. 2018 The cause of the limp, a long-ago car accident that had killed his wife, he and she having been broadsided by a drunk driver, was no longer ever mentioned. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Read an excerpt from Kim Stanley Robinson’s next book," 18 Oct. 2018 President Trump’s broadsides against NATO have rattled a military alliance that has existed for 69 years and that has helped to define the global order since shortly after World War II. — John Fritze, USA TODAY, "What is NATO and why is Donald Trump slamming it?," 12 July 2018 On the way to their first big gig, the Plaids are broadsided and killed instantly by a school bus of Catholic school girls on the way to see the Beatles perform on the Ed Sullivan Show. — Emily Sorensen, Pomerado News, "Welk Theatre's 'Forever Plaid' opens Saturday," 11 July 2018 While en route, a deputy traveling south on North Santa Fe Avenue with his emergency lights and siren on was broadsided by a 2000 Toyota Rav4 traveling east on Vista Village Drive at the intersection of the two streets. — Gary Warth, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Sheriff's patrol car broadsided by vehicle while enroute to accident," 5 July 2018 That’s why Trump broadsides at the alliance as a whole, even if not specifically directed at the Poles, cause a distinct undercurrent of nervousness. — Laura King, latimes.com, "Poland sees opportunity and peril in NATO summit and Trump-Putin meeting," 9 July 2018 The gathering ended with President Donald Trump broadsiding allies via Twitter, undermining the bloc and potentially causing fresh friction over trade. — Fortune, "Watch Out: This Could Be the World Economy's Most Important Week of 2018," 11 June 2018 Without saying McCain's name, Trump again broadsided McCain for his dramatic opposition last July to oppose a Republican effort to roll back the Affordable Care Act. — Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, azcentral, "John McCain 'doesn't give a rat's ass' what Trump says or thinks of him, co-author says," 30 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'broadside.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.