widen

verb

wid·​en ˈwī-dᵊn 

widened; widening 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

ˈwīd-nər 

ˈwī-dᵊn-ər

noun

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 on the Web

Even so, stablecoin's benefits are starting to emerge, as usage widens. — Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026

Concurrently, optimizing power usage effectiveness (PUE) widens margins. — Dr. Dick Bridy, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Instead, as the war went on, the gap widened between the United States’ aim to prepare for post-Hamas governance in Gaza and Israel’s aim to destroy Hamas and prepare for military reoccupation. — Dafna H. Rand, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2026

By May, Democrats widened that lead by 2 percentage points, and by July, the gap widened by another 2 points to 53% for Democrats and 42% for the GOP. — Chad De Guzman, Time, 4 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for widen

• poseidon

Kids Definition

widen

verb

wid·​en ˈwīd-ᵊn 

widened; widening ˈwīd-niŋ 

-ᵊn-iŋ

: to make or become wide or wider : broaden