widen

B2 Topic:Cause, Change & Process

US /ˈwaɪdn̩/ See IPA manual

verb Freq #21276

Meanings

1

verb
To make something wider, or to become wider.

The city plans to widen the main road next year.
2

verb
To become or make larger in eyes or opening.

Her eyes widened in surprise.
3

verb
To increase in scope or range; to broaden.

The police widened their investigation.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

breadthenbroadenenwidenthickenwidthen

Opposites

lengthen shorten straiten

Word family

Forms widenedwideningwidens

Derived forms widenable

Related forms dilate

Etymology

Borrowed from Swedish Widén.

Widén sv

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Cause, Change & Process Actions & Processes

# widen

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** ˈwaɪdn̩
**Frequency rank:** 21276

## Meanings
1. To make something wider, or to become wider.
2. To become or make larger in eyes or opening.
3. To increase in scope or range; to broaden.

## Examples
- The city plans to widen the main road next year.
- Her eyes widened in surprise.
- The police widened their investigation.

## Synonyms
- breadthen
- broaden
- enwiden
- thicken
- widthen

## Antonyms
- lengthen
- shorten
- straiten

## Derived Forms
- widenable

## Related Forms
- dilate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: Widén
- Affix: -en - to make

## Etymology
Borrowed from Swedish Widén.

## AI Etymology
Widen is borrowed from Swedish Widén. A key historical form is sv Widén. In present-day use, it can mean to make something wider, or to become wider, or to become or make larger in eyes or opening. Derived formations include widenable. Related words include dilate.

## Topics
- Cause, Change & Process
- Actions & Processes

markdown

widen

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback