One syllable: Broad.
brawd
/bɹɔd/
Broad is pronounced brawd (/bɹɔd/). It has one syllable (Broad), with the stress on "Broad". Broad is an adjective meaning wide in extent or scope, not thin or narrow. It can describe physical width, general applicability, or a sweeping, non-specific sense in informal speech. In some contexts it also carries colloquial, non-literal nuances, such as broad exaggeration or broad laughter, emphasizing magnitude or inclusivity rather than precision.
adjectiveBroad is an adjective meaning wide in extent or scope, not thin or narrow. It can describe physical width, general applicability, or a sweeping, non-specific sense in informal speech. In some contexts it also carries colloquial, non-literal nuances, such as broad exaggeration or broad laughter, emphasizing magnitude or inclusivity rather than precision.
"The river forms a broad bend near the village."
"She has a broad range of interests, from science to art."
"His broad smile suggested he was pleased with the news."
Broad is a single-syllable word with a long o sound. IPA: US /brɔd/, UK/AU /brɔːd/. Start with /b/ followed by an open-mid back rounded vowel /ɔ/ (US) or /ɔː/ (UK/AU), then finish with /d/. The mouth opens for the vowel, lips slightly rounded, and the tongue sits low to mid-back. End with a clear /d/ closure. You can think of it as rhyming with ‘bored’ but with a slightly shorter vowel in some US dialects.
Common mistakes include misplacing the mouth shape for /ɔː/ (US often uses a shorter /ɑ/-like sound in some regional accents) and confusing the final /d/ with a silent or de-voiced stop. To correct: keep the /ɔː/ or /ɔ/ vowel rounded and long enough before the /d/, and briefly vocalize the /d/ with a crisp alveolar closure. Avoid turning the /ɔː/ into /oʊ/ or /ɑ/; maintain a single, steady vowel before the /d/. Practice with minimal pairs like broad/ broad (US) vs bored/bored to feel the vowel length and final stop.
US tends to have a shorter /ɔ/ before /d/ and a rhotic influence minimal since there’s a neutral /r/ not present in broad itself; UK/AU typically use /ɔː/ with a slightly longer vowel and crisper /d/. In Australian English, the /ɔː/ can be even more centralized with a mild vowel shift depending on the speaker, but still keeps the /d/ final stop clearly. Rhoticity differences are minimal for this word, but vowel duration and quality may shift slightly, influencing whether it sounds more like /brɔd/ or /brɔːd/ in practice.
The challenge is the short vs long vowel quality before a final /d/. In some dialects, the /ɔ/ vowel can drift toward /ɑ/ or /oʊ/, altering the perceived length. The tongue must sit mid-back with lips rounded for /ɔː/ in many accents, then transition to a quick alveolar /d/ release. Misplacing the vowel (e.g., /bɹoʊd/ or /brɒd/) can create a less natural sound. Focusing on a consistent, rounded back-vowel followed by a crisp /d/ helps anchor the pronunciation.
A distinctive feature is the concise, single-syllable structure with a rounded back vowel before a final dental-alveolar stop. The key is maintaining a smooth transition from the bilabial /b/ into the back vowel /ɔː/ (US /ɔ/), without adding an extra syllable or altering the vowel into a fronted variant. You’ll hear the lack of an explicit /r/ in most non-rhotic accents, which reinforces a clean, immediate /d/ closure at the end. IPA cues: US /brɔd/, UK/AU /brɔːd/.
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The word broad comes from Old English brād, related to the Proto-Germanic *braþaz and Proto-Indo-European *bhrādh-. It originally described physical width or breadth, a meaning preserved in phrases like wide-broad and broad-shouldered. Over time, broad acquired metaphorical senses: broad as in all-encompassing or extensive, and colloquial senses implying generality or imprecision (as in a broad idea or broad laughter). The semantic shift toward inclusivity and magnitude became common in Middle English and Early Modern English, fueling phrases such as “a broad range” and “a broad smile.” First known use in print appears in the 9th–12th centuries in Old English texts, with evolving spellings like brād and brod. The modern spelling standardized to broad by the 15th century, retaining both the concrete width sense and broadened metaphorical applications that persist in contemporary usage.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Broad" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Broad" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Broad"
-wed sounds
-awd sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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