broad
/bɹɔd/adjective, noun
broad is spelled B-R-O-A-D: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 34 times per million words in written English, the 2,831st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, broad means “Wide in extent or scope” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in broad?
| Letters | 5: B-R-O-A-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 34 times per million words; the 2,831st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is broad?
Broad appears 34 times per million words in written English, the 2,831st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce broad?
- UK /bɹɔːd/
- British /bɹoːd/
- US /bɹɔd/
Broad has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-broad.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with broad?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as broad from its last stressed vowel (/ɔd/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: board, bardo, abord, dobra.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of broad
- broader comparative
- broadest superlative
- broads plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does broad mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Wide in extent or scope.
three feet broad
- 2
Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
crushing the minds of its victims in the broad and open day
- 3
Having a large measure of any thing or quality; unlimited; unrestrained.
- 4
Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
- 5
Plain; evident.
a broad hint
- 6
General rather than specific.
to be in broad agreement
- 7
Unsubtle; obvious.
- 8
Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
noun
- 1
UKA shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
- 2
A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
- 3
UKA British gold coin worth 20 shillings, issued by the Commonwealth of England in 1656.
- 4
A kind of floodlight.
- 5
archaicslangA playing card.
- 6
USdatedA prostitute, a woman of loose morals.
- 7
USdatedslangA woman or girl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Broad in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | large , fort , gonzesse, meuf |
| German | breit , Weib, Braut |
| Portuguese | largo , gaja |
| Spanish | pava, piba, jermu, gachí |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does broad come from?
From Middle English brood, brode, from Old English brād (“broad, flat, open, extended, spacious, wide, ample, copious”), from Proto-West Germanic *braid, from Proto-Germanic *braidaz (“broad, wide”), of uncertain origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).