widespread

adjective

wide·​spread ˈwīd-ˈspred How to pronounce widespread (audio)
1
: widely diffused or prevalent
widespread public interest
2
: widely extended or spread out
low, widespread hood and fendersTime
a widespread erosion surfaceC. B. Hitchcock

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 on the Web The ultimatum drew widespread condemnation, even from within the hard-right government. Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024 The war has also garnered widespread support, according to Levada, although its latest surveys show the majority of Russians support peace talks. Christian Edwards, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 The fallout from the attack on Change Healthcare has been widespread, significantly hurting pharmacies, clinics, and providers. Jonathan Slotkin and David Vawdrey, STAT, 14 Mar. 2024 When the show first aired, none of the voice actors or creators knew how widespread the fanbase was. Jordan Moreau, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 His fellow Republicans at the Justice Department and in key states such as Arizona and Georgia found no widespread fraud. Bart Jansen, USA TODAY, 13 Mar. 2024 Despite contentions to the contrary, however, there is little evidence of widespread voter fraud and the same federal laws that require accurate voter rolls also require that steps are taken not to disenfranchise voters. Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024 The practice was even more widespread in big metropolitan areas: A quarter of New York restaurants on Resy charged at least one cancellation fee in January, as did one-fifth of restaurants in Los Angeles and Miami. T.m. Brown, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Several categories of borrowers would be eligible for relief under Biden’s second try at widespread cancellation after the Supreme Court rejected his first plan last year. Adriana Morga, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'widespread.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1582, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of widespread was in 1582

Dictionary Entries Near widespread

Cite this Entry

“Widespread.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/widespread. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

widespread

adjective
wide·​spread ˈwīd-ˈspred How to pronounce widespread (audio)
1
: scattered or found over a wide area
widespread interest in the election
2
: spread out over a wide area
widespread wings

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