broad and wide

Wide is used for the physical distance from one side of something to the other.

  • We live in a very wide street.
  • The car’s too wide for the garage.

Broad is mostly used in abstract expressions.

  • broad agreement ( = agreement on most points)
  • broad-minded ( = tolerant)
  • broad daylight ( = full, bright daylight)

Broad is also used in the expression broad shoulders ( = wide strong shoulders), and in descriptions of landscape in a formal style.

  • Across the broad valley, the mountains rose blue and mysterious.