widespread

adjective wide·spread \ ˈwīd-ˈspred \

|Updated on: 17 Jun 2018

Examples: widespread in a Sentence

Definition of widespread

1 : widely diffused or prevalent

widespread public interest

2 : widely extended or spread out

low, widespread hood and fenders
—Time

a widespread erosion surface
—C. B. Hitchcock

See widespread defined for English-language learners

See widespread defined for kids

Examples of widespread in a Sentence

There is widespread public interest in the election.
Trade partners had become more widespread.
There was widespread opposition to the plan.

Recent Examples of widespread from the Web

Sloppy reporting of statistics in research papers is widespread.

— The Economist, "Computer algorithms can test the dodginess of published results," 14 June 2018
That sentiment is widespread among Republicans, who say the attack has only strengthened their commitment to protecting gun rights.

— NBC News, "Congressional baseball game comes a year after shooting," 14 June 2018
Other than saying the practice was not widespread, though, the letter offers no clues about how many unauthorized accounts may have been created or how many banks may have created them.

— james rufus koren, latimes.com, "Regulator to face questions over unauthorized accounts in banking industry," 12 June 2018
Towns with population declines were widespread in South Jersey and portions of Bucks County.

— jonathan lai, Philly.com, "Census data show Chester County's hot, South Jersey's not. Here's how towns are changing," 11 June 2018
But that means people were probably already well in place by then; and there’s enough evidence to suggest humans were widespread 20,000 years ago.

— National Geographic, "When, How Did the First Americans Arrive? It’s Complicated.," 9 June 2018
Those issues turned out to be widespread in the Department of Veterans Affairs.

— dennis wagner, azcentral, "Phoenix VA inspection reveals issues with care, safety, public trust," 5 June 2018
Since JavaScript's use is so widespread, Omni's approach is a lot more flexible than x-callback-url.

— jordan mcmahon, WIRED, "How One Apple Programmer Got Apps Talking to Each Other," 2 June 2018
This may help the lake steelheads recover from parasitic lampreys, which are widespread in that fresh water.

— elizabeth pennisi, Science | AAAS, "This saltwater trout evolved to live in fresh water—in just 100 years," 1 June 2018

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

First Known Use of widespread

1582

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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widespread Synonyms

WIDESPREAD Defined for English Language Learners

widespread

adjective

Definition of widespread for English Language Learners

: common over a wide area or among many people

WIDESPREAD Defined for Kids

widespread

adjective wide·spread \ ˈwīd-ˈspred \

Definition of widespread for Students

1 : widely stretched out

widespread wings

2 : widely scattered

widespread public interest

Learn More about widespread

See words that rhyme with widespread Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for widespread Spanish Central: Translation of widespread Nglish: Translation of widespread for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of widespread for Arabic speakers

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widespread

Definition of widespread

Examples of widespread in a Sentence

Recent Examples of widespread from the Web

First Known Use of widespread

widespread Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

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WIDESPREAD Defined for English Language Learners

widespread

Definition of widespread for English Language Learners

WIDESPREAD Defined for Kids

widespread

Definition of widespread for Students

Learn More about widespread

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