widen

verb

wid·​en ˈwī-dᵊn How to pronounce widen (audio)
widened; widening ˈwīd-niŋ How to pronounce widen (audio)
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 How to pronounce widen (audio)
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
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.
Polls before the election had found a widening gender gap between the two candidates. Angela Yang, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024 In particular, House District 69 representing Carmel remained extremely close for several hours, though Republican Danny Lopez has widened the margin to about 7 percentage points above Democrat Matt McNally with nearly all of the votes counted. Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Nov. 2024 Zoom out: Harris has widened her lead among swing state college students. Erica Pandey, Axios, 4 Nov. 2024 Prognosticators have focused on the widening gender gap with women favoring Harris and men preferring Trump, both by double-digit differences. Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for widen 

Word History

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of widen was in 1566

Dictionary Entries Near widen

Cite this Entry

“Widen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/widen. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

widen

verb
wid·​en ˈwīd-ᵊn How to pronounce widen (audio)
widened; widening ˈwīd-niŋ How to pronounce widen (audio)
-ᵊn-iŋ
: to make or become wide or wider : broaden

More from Merriam-Webster on widen

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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