widely

adverb

wide·​ly ˈwīd-lē 

1

: over or through a wide area

has traveled widely

2

: to a great extent

departed widely from the previous edition

3

: by or among a large well-dispersed group of people

a widely known political figure

4

: over a broad range

… persons with widely fluctuating incomes.

—Current Biography

Examples of widely in a Sentence

Their products are widely available.

a widely known political figure

The books are widely read by adults as well as children.

Recent Examples on the Web

The research team achieved a substantial performance improvement through a simple spray coating polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), widely known as Teflon, onto the porous transport layer (PTL), a vital component of water electrolyzers. —Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 14 Dec. 2025

Hero praised In one video circulated widely online, a man in a white shirt is seen tackling one of the gunmen and taking his firearm. —Hilary Whiteman, CNN Money, 14 Dec. 2025

In footage circulating widely online, a man is seen wrestling one of the attackers and taking a gun from him. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 14 Dec. 2025

Of course, yellow and red also happen to be colors widely associated with the Kansas City Chiefs. —Emily Tannenbaum, Glamour, 14 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing widely

• widely believed
• widely distributed

Rhymes for widely

• impliedly
• idly
• unqualifiedly