Wide vs. Narrow

Wide vs. Narrow — Is There a Difference?
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Difference Between Wide and Narrow

Wideadjective

Having a large physical extent from side to side.

We walked down a wide corridor.

Narrowadjective

Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.

a narrow hallway

Wideadjective

Large in scope.

The inquiry had a wide remit.

Narrowadjective

Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.

Wideadjective

(sports) Operating at the side of the playing area.

That team needs a decent wide player.

Narrowadjective

(figuratively) Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude.

a narrow interpretation
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Wideadjective

On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.

Narrowadjective

Contracted; of limited scope; bigoted

a narrow mindnarrow views

Wideadjective

Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the organs in the mouth.

Narrowadjective

Having a small margin or degree.

a narrow escapeThe Republicans won by a narrow majority.

Wideadjective

Vast, great in extent, extensive.

The wide, lifeless expanse.

Narrowadjective

(dated) Limited as to means; straitened

narrow circumstances
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Wideadjective

Remote; distant; far.

The hut was not wide from the sea.The cabin is not wide from the lake.

Narrowadjective

Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.

Wideadjective

(obsolete) Far from truth, propriety, necessity, etc.

Narrowadjective

Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.

Wideadjective

(computing) Of or supporting a greater range of text characters than can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.

a wide character; a wide stream

Narrowadjective

(phonetics) Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; distinguished from wide.

Wideadverb

extensively

He travelled far and wide.

Narrownoun

A narrow passage, especially a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water.

the Narrows of New York harbor

Wideadverb

completely

He was wide awake.

Narrowverb

(transitive) To reduce in width or extent; to contract.

We need to narrow the search.

Wideadverb

away from a given goal

The arrow fell wide of the mark.

Narrowverb

(intransitive) To get narrower.

The road narrows.

Wideadverb

So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.

Narrowverb

(of a person or eyes) To partially lower one's eyelids in a way usually taken to suggest a defensive, aggressive or penetrating look.

He stepped in front of me, narrowing his eyes to slits.She wagged her finger in his face, and her eyes narrowed.

Widenoun

(cricket) A ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score

Narrowverb

(knitting) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.

Wideadjective

having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other;

wide roadsa wide necktiewide marginsthree feet widea river two miles broadbroad shouldersa broad river

Narrowverb

To convert to a data type that cannot hold as many distinct values.

to narrow an int variable to a short variable

Wideadjective

broad in scope or content;

across-the-board pay increasesan all-embracing definitionblanket sanctions against human-rights violatorsan invention with broad applicationsa panoptic study of Soviet nationalitygranted him wide powers

Narrownoun

a narrow strait connecting two bodies of water

Wideadjective

(used of eyes) fully open or extended;

listened in round-eyed wonderstared with wide eyes

Narrowverb

make or become more narrow or restricted;

The selection was narrowedThe road narrowed

Wideadjective

very large in expanse or scope;

a broad lawnthe wide plainsa spacious viewspacious skies

Narrowverb

define clearly;

I cannot narrow down the rules for this game

Wideadjective

great in degree;

won by a wide margin

Narrowverb

become more special;

We specialize in dried flowers

Wideadjective

great in range or scope;

an extended vocabularysurgeons with extended experienceextensive examples of picture writingsuffered extensive damagea wide selection

Narrowverb

become tight or as if tight;

Her throat constricted

Wideadjective

having ample fabric;

the current taste for wide trousersa full skirt

Narrowadjective

not wide;

a narrow bridgea narrow line across the page

Wideadjective

not on target;

the kick was widethe arrow was wide of the marka claim that was wide of the truth

Narrowadjective

limited in size or scope;

the narrow sense of a word

Wideadverb

with or by a broad space;

stand with legs wide apartran wide around left end

Narrowadjective

lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view;

a brilliant but narrow-minded judgenarrow opinions

Wideadverb

to the fullest extent possible;

open your eyes widewith the throttle wide open

Narrowadjective

very limited in degree;

won by a narrow margina narrow escape

Wideadverb

far from the intended target;

the arrow went wide of the marka bullet went astray and killed a bystander

Narrowadjective

characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination;

a minute inspection of the groundsa narrow scrutinyan exact and minute report

Wideadverb

to or over a great extent or range; far;

wandered wide through many landshe traveled widely