widened; widening
ˈwīd-niŋ 
ˈwī-dᵊn-iŋ
: to increase the width, scope, or extent of
widen a road
widen an investigation
: to become wide or wider
a widening gap
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
All night, the fog had stubbornly hidden the stars in the dark, impenetrable sky, but now the sliver of light widened little by little into a luminous band, a hazy phosphorescence that slowly spread and took over.
—
Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Specifically, the efforts will widen the sidewalks to at least four-and-a-half feet — with some areas seeing 8-foot sidewalks — and narrow the roads to 29 feet to help slow traffic down, Ley said.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 21 Jan. 2026
In today’s environment, dispersion between winners and losers is widening, creating a fertile landscape for alpha generation.
—Carrie McCabe, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
With a bottomless well of ideas, relentless encouragement, and a grin that only seems to widen by the season, the Wichita, Kansas, native runs TV’s most prolific reality competition series as the most benevolent of dictators.
—David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for widen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Literary Hub, 22 Jan. 2026
Specifically, the efforts will widen the sidewalks to at least four-and-a-half feet — with some areas seeing 8-foot sidewalks — and narrow the roads to 29 feet to help slow traffic down, Ley said.
—Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 21 Jan. 2026
In today’s environment, dispersion between winners and losers is widening, creating a fertile landscape for alpha generation.
—Carrie McCabe, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
With a bottomless well of ideas, relentless encouragement, and a grin that only seems to widen by the season, the Wichita, Kansas, native runs TV’s most prolific reality competition series as the most benevolent of dictators.
—David Canfield, Vanity Fair, 20 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for widen
Cite this Entry
“Widen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/widen. Accessed 28 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
