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widen

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verb American English pronunciation: widen /ˈwaɪd(ə)n/ 
Word Forms
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present tense
I/you/we/theywiden
he/she/itwidens
present participlewidening
past tensewidened
past participlewidened
  1. 1
    [intransitive] to increase

    The gap between rich and poor seems to be widening.

    1. a.
      [transitive] to increase something

      The police are widening the scope of their investigation.

      They’re widening the choice of foreign languages available.

  2. 2
    [intransitive] to become wider

    His eyes widened in shocked disbelief.

    The river widens and turns south after it leaves the valley.

    1. a.
      [transitive] to make something wider

      They’re planning to widen the road outside our house.

derived word

widening

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an ever-widening range of goods

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