What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Broad vs Length - What's the difference?

broad | length |

As nouns the difference between broad and length

is that broad is a prostitute, a woman of loose morals while length is the distance measured along the longest dimension of an object.

As an adjective broad

is wide in extent or scope.

As a verb length is

to lengthen.

broad

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Wide in extent or scope.
    • three feet broad
    the broad expanse of ocean
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=2 , passage=Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke. He was dressed out in broad gaiters and bright tweeds, like an English tourist, and his face might have belonged to Dagon, idol of the Philistines.}}
  • * {{quote-news, year=2012, date=April 19, author=Josh Halliday, work=the Guardian
    • , title= Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised? , passage=Julia Farrington, head of arts at Index on Censorship, argues that extra powers to ban violent videos online will "end up too broad and open to misapplication, which would damage freedom of expression".}}
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-28, author=(Joris Luyendijk)
    • , volume=189, issue=3, page=21, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Our banks are out of control , passage=Seeing the British establishment struggle with the financial sector is like watching an alcoholic […].  Until 2008 there was denial over what finance had become. […]  But the scandals kept coming, and so we entered stage three – what therapists call "bargaining". A broad section of the political class now recognises the need for change but remains unable to see the necessity of a fundamental overhaul. Instead it offers fixes and patches.}}
  • Extended, in the sense of diffused; open; clear; full.
  • * Bishop Porteus
    • broad and open day
  • Having a large measure of any thing or quality; not limited; not restrained.
  • * John Locke
    • a broad mixture of falsehood
  • Comprehensive; liberal; enlarged.
  • * D. Daggett
    • The words in the Constitution are broad enough to include the case.
  • * E. Everett
    • in a broad , statesmanlike, and masterly way
  • Plain; evident.
    • a broad hint
  • Free; unrestrained; unconfined.
  • * Shakespeare
    • as broad and general as the casing air
  • (dated) Gross; coarse; indelicate.
    • a broad''' compliment; a '''broad''' joke; '''broad humour
  • (of an accent) Strongly regional.
  • (Gaelic languages) Velarized, i.e. not palatalized.

    • Antonyms

    * * (Regarding body width) * (Not palatalized)

    Derived terms

    * breadth * broaden * broad across the beam * broad in the beam * broadscale * broad strokes * broadsword * broad church * broadcloth * broad agreement

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (dated) A prostitute, a woman of loose morals.
  • (US) A woman or girl.
    • Who was that broad I saw you with?
  • (UK) A shallow lake, one of a number of bodies of water in eastern Norfolk and Suffolk.
  • A lathe tool for turning down the insides and bottoms of cylinders.
    • (Knight)

    Synonyms

    * See also * See also * See also

    See also

    *

    Anagrams

    * * * ----

    length

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The distance measured along the longest dimension of an object.
  • duration
  • * Robert Frost
    • Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length .
  • (horse racing) The length of a horse, used to indicate the distance between horses at the end of a race.
  • (mathematics) Distance between the two ends of a line segment.
  • (cricket) The distance down the pitch that the ball bounces on its way to the batsman.
  • (figuratively) Total extent.
    • the length of a book
  • Part of something that is long; a physical piece of something.
    • a length of rope

    Derived terms

    * arm's length * at length * cable length * feature-length * floor-length * focal length * full-length * good length * go to great lengths * half-length * knee-length * lengthen * lengthful * length overall * lengthways * lengthwise * lengthy * line and length * null patch length * overlength * path length * screening length * short of a length * wavelength * zero-length launching

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To lengthen.
  • * 1599 , , XIV. 30:
    • Pack night, peep day; good day, of night now borrow: / Short night, to-night, and length thyself to-morrow.

    Statistics

    * 1000 English basic words