broadside

1 of 4

noun

broad·​side ˈbrȯd-ˌsīd How to pronounce broadside (audio)
1
a(1)
: a sizable sheet of paper printed on one side
(2)
: a sheet printed on one or both sides and folded
b
: something (such as a ballad) printed on a broadside
2
archaic : the side of a ship above the waterline
3
a
: all the guns on one side of a ship
also : their simultaneous discharge
b
: a volley of abuse or denunciation
4
: a broad or unbroken surface

broadside

2 of 4

adjective

: directed or placed broadside
a broadside attack

broadside

3 of 4

adverb

1
a
: with the side forward or toward a given point : sideways
turned broadside
b
: directly from the side
the car was hit broadside
2
: in one volley
3
: at random

broadside

4 of 4

verb

broadsided; broadsiding; broadsides

transitive verb

: to hit broadside
the car was broadsided

Did you know?

Nautical language is both fascinating and fun, what with its jibbooms and spirketing, its scuppers and poop decks. As these four terms demonstrate, not all ship-related words sail over to landlubber vocabulary, but broadside is one that has. It originally referred to the side of a ship above the water, then later to the guns arrayed along that side. The further use of broadside to refer to the firing of all those guns at once eventually led to the figurative “volley of abuse” sense—a strongly worded attack intended to shiver one’s timbers. The printing-related uses of broadside, referring originally to sheets of paper, and then to matter printed on such paper, arose independently.

Examples of broadside in a Sentence

Adverb The car was hit broadside. one car hit the other broadside and crushed the passenger door Verb His car was broadsided by a truck as he was driving through the intersection.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In a fresh broadside, the House Judiciary Committee, led by Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a staunch Trump ally, subpoenaed her office on Friday over its use of federal funds. Danny Hakim, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 Pro-war propagandists mounted a broadside against Lockshin, who has publicly opposed Russia’s invasion and supported Ukraine, calling for a criminal case against him and for his designation as a terrorist. Paul Sonne, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2024 Meghan McCain reprimanded Trump in a social media post after his broadside. Ronald J. Hansen, The Arizona Republic, 7 Jan. 2024 The move was the latest broadside — encouraged by the French government — to try to strong-arm manufacturers to lower food costs that have continued to buffet families despite a broad slowdown in price increases across Europe. Liz Alderman, New York Times, 4 Jan. 2024 Singer David Lee Roth launched a broadside on YouTube Wednesday (Jan. 24) against Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, who played bass with the band from 2007 to 2015 and is currently finding success with his own band, Wolfgang WVH. Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 24 Jan. 2024 Mark Kelly Hunter Biden on Wednesday defied subpoenas to appear in front of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, delivering instead a Trump-style broadside against his GOP investigators outside the Capitol. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 13 Dec. 2023 Grabar’s broadside against parking is inspired by another book: The High Cost of Free Parking, a treatise on urban economics written in 2005 by the UCLA professor Donald Shoup. Max Holleran, The New Republic, 25 Apr. 2023 While 33 states, including Colorado and California, filed a joint complaint in federal court, Massachusetts and other states filed individual complaints in local courts, part of a sprawling legal broadside against the tech giant. Naomi Nix, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023
Adjective
The bull didn’t flinch and continued walking away, eventually turning broadside at 300 yards. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 11 Jan. 2024 At about 147 yards, the buck stopped and turned broadside and gave me a shot. Bryan Hendricks, arkansasonline.com, 3 Dec. 2023 Justice O’Connor’s dissenting opinion not only considered the restrictions to be valid, but contained a broadside attack on Roe v. Wade itself. Linda Greenhouse, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2023 The buck was standing perfectly broadside at 21 yards when Milton released his arrow. Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 29 Nov. 2023 The buck stepped out of the thicket and offered him a broadside shot at 12 yards. Outdoor Life, 22 Nov. 2023 Reichert took the shot when the buck turned broadside and after a short wait, the hunter was gripping the antlers of a true giant. Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 1 Nov. 2023 But this is far more than daydreaming about a giant buck turning broadside. Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 12 Oct. 2023 As the Honda turned left, it was struck broadside by the Mustang, police said. Clifford Ward, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023
Verb
Seconds later, according to police, the GTI broadsided the passenger side of a Nissan Altima headed east on Surfrider Way. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Mar. 2024 As European Union regulators prepared to implement a Big Tech law that would broadside U.S. heavyweights such as Apple and Google, the letters poured into the White House. Eva Dou, Washington Post, 7 Mar. 2024 That impact caused the Dodge to spin out and travel into the path of the big rig, which broadsided the left side of the Dodge before crashing through a fence along the highway. Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2024 But officials had not anticipated a blaze that would ignite on the east side of the canyon, cross the Feather River and broadside the entire town, said Maranghides, who has written multiple case study reports on the fire. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023 Michael Filbert was working an overtime shift July 22, his first day back from injury leave after someone broadsided his cruiser five days earlier. oregonlive, 23 Aug. 2023 About 30 seconds later, the Volkswagen GTI broadsided the passenger side of a Nissan Altima headed east on Surfrider Way. Teri Figueroa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2023 Police said the collision occurred about 2:25 am when compact sedan westbound on Paradise Valley Road made a left turn toward Munda Road and was broadsided by an oncoming truck. Mike Freeman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 May 2023 Hawthorn was driving his family to Michigan when a truck broadsided the car, killing his wife and 4-year-old daughter and seriously injuring three older children. Ryan Gabrielson, ProPublica, 25 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'broadside.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective

1646, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1786, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of broadside was in 1591

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Dictionary Entries Near broadside

Cite this Entry

“Broadside.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broadside. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

broadside

1 of 2 noun
broad·​side ˈbrȯd-ˌsīd How to pronounce broadside (audio)
1
: the part of a ship's side above the waterline
2
: a firing of all of the guns that are on the same side of a ship
3
: a sheet of paper printed usually on one side (as an advertisement)
4
: a strongly worded attack
a broadside of criticism

broadside

2 of 2 adverb
1
: with one side forward : sideways
turned broadside
2
: from the side
hit the car broadside

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