Wider

How to spell wider

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce wider

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does wider mean?

1. adjectiveGreater in width or extent than something else being compared.

Wider in a sentence

• The new motorway is much wider than the old country road.

• A wider doorway would let the wheelchair pass through easily.

Where does wider come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is the comparative form of 'wide', which comes from the Old English 'wid', meaning 'broad', 'spacious', or 'extending far'. The word has deep Germanic roots and is related to similar forms in Old Norse 'vidhr' and Old High German 'wit', all carrying the sense of great extent or distance. Adding the comparative suffix '-er', a native English ending used to mark 'more of' a quality, produced 'wider' to mean 'more wide'. The spelling is straightforward because the silent 'e' of 'wide' is simply dropped before the '-er' is attached, which keeps the long 'i' sound intact. Because the word is so old and so regular, the main thing a writer must remember is the single 'd' rather than a doubled one.

How the word is built

• wide (broad, extending far)
• -er (comparative suffix)