Widen

How to spell widen

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce widen

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does widen mean?

1. verbTo make something broader, or to become broader.

Widen in a sentence

• The council plans to widen the road outside the school.

• A deep breath can widen the chest noticeably.

Where does widen come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is built on the native adjective 'wide', which comes from the Old English 'wid', meaning 'broad' or 'extending far in space'. To turn an adjective into a verb of becoming, English has long used the suffix '-en', the same ending that gives us 'harden', 'soften', 'sharpen', and 'lengthen', and which carries the sense 'to make or become'. The combined form 'widen' appears in English from around the late 1500s, neatly replacing older phrases that meant 'to make wide'. The spelling stays reassuringly regular: the silent 'e' of 'wide' is kept before the '-en' ending, so the word reads as the plain adjective with the suffix attached. Its close relatives 'width' and 'wide' share the same ancient Germanic root, which is why all three keep that core 'wid' spelling.

How the word is built

• wide (from Old English wid: broad, ample)
• -en (verb-forming suffix meaning 'to make or become')