widen

verb wid·en \ ˈwī-dᵊn \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Examples: widen in a Sentence

Definition of widen

widened; widening play \ˈwīd-niŋ, ˈwī-dᵊn-iŋ\

transitive verb

: to increase the width, scope, or extent of

widen a road

widen an investigation

intransitive verb

: to become wide or wider

a widening gap

—

widener

play \ˈwīd-nər, ˈwī-dᵊn-ər\ noun

See widen defined for English-language learners

See widen defined for kids

Examples of widen in a Sentence

The city is going to widen the road.
They plan to widen the investigation.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
They went swimming at a spot where the river widens.
The scope of the investigation has widened.

Recent Examples of widen from the Web

At a Rose Garden event, Trump praised the legislation as helping to achieve his campaign pledge to fix the VA by bringing accountability and widening access to private doctors.

— Fox News, "Trump signs bill to expand private care for veterans," 6 June 2018
Plans call for widening Abbotts Bridge, Ga. 120, and adding a center turn lane, landscaped medians and 10-foot-wide pedestrian trails on each side of the road.

— david ibata, ajc, "Johns Creek sets meetings on Abbotts Bridge sound relief," 4 June 2018
By the time the Mississippi River reaches St. Louis, the waterway widens and tows pushing more barges travel in both directions.

— meg jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The Mississippi River lock and dam system is critical to the economy. But it's falling apart fast.," 1 June 2018
The real clue is in the title; this is a film about the rapidly widening international divide between the haves and have-nots.

— jonathan holland, The Hollywood Reporter, "‘The Divide’ (‘La Grieta’): Film Review," 31 May 2018
The legacy of residential schools—those strained and broken threads of relationships and culture and identity—is like a widening tear in a piece of fabric.

— krista stevens, Longreads, "In Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Starts with Educating Ourselves and Our Kids," 22 May 2018
There were a lot of concerns about whether or not technology widened or narrowed the gap between the rich and the poor.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Kleiner Perkins Chairman John Doerr on Recode Decode," 19 May 2018
Yet there are times when the topic of study widens, and an inquiry into a business issue raises questions about business in general, and what our economic system should be calibrated to incentivize and allow.

— john benjamin, The New Republic, "Business Class," 14 May 2018
Noblesville is hoping the county chips in to build bridges over the White River and Cicero Creek when the city widens and extends Pleasant Street as a bypass to downtown traffic.

— chris sikich, Indianapolis Star, "Progressive Hamilton County Republicans target fiscal conservatives on County Council in primary," 30 Apr. 2018

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

First Known Use of widen

1566

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

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WIDEN Defined for English Language Learners

widen

verb

Definition of widen for English Language Learners

: to make (something) wide or wider
: to become wide or wider

WIDEN Defined for Kids

widen

verb wid·en \ ˈwī-dᵊn \

Definition of widen for Students

widened; widening

: to make or become wide or wider

The road is being widened.

Learn More about widen

See words that rhyme with widen Spanish Central: Translation of widen Nglish: Translation of widen for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of widen for Arabic speakers

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widen

Definition of widen

widener

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First Known Use of widen

WIDEN Defined for English Language Learners

widen

Definition of widen for English Language Learners

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widen

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widener

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