widened; widening
ˈwīd-niŋ 
ˈwī-dᵊn-iŋ
: to increase the width, scope, or extent of
widen a road
widen an investigation
: to become wide or wider
a widening gap
Examples of widen in a Sentence
The city is going to widen the road.
They plan to widen the investigation.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
They went swimming at a spot where the river widens.
The scope of the investigation has widened.
Recent Examples on the Web
And in Placer County, Congressman Kevin Kiley announced a $22 million federal grant to widen Highway 65 by Rocklin, citing the traffic.
—
Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 1 Jan. 2026
Credit-default swaps — insurance that pays out if a borrower can't service its debt — have widened to multi-year highs for Oracle.
—Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 1 Jan. 2026
Xi’s widening purge has ousted scores of military generals and investigated a record number of high-level officials for corruption this year.
—Bloomberg, Fortune, 31 Dec. 2025
In March, Caltrans presented the Planning Group with three alternatives for more improvements to increase safety, relieve congestion and improve evacuation routes in case of a wildfire — including one that would include widening the highway to four lanes.
—Susan Gill Vardon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for widen
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Ariane Lange, Sacbee.com, 1 Jan. 2026
Credit-default swaps — insurance that pays out if a borrower can't service its debt — have widened to multi-year highs for Oracle.
—Mackenzie Sigalos, CNBC, 1 Jan. 2026
Xi’s widening purge has ousted scores of military generals and investigated a record number of high-level officials for corruption this year.
—Bloomberg, Fortune, 31 Dec. 2025
In March, Caltrans presented the Planning Group with three alternatives for more improvements to increase safety, relieve congestion and improve evacuation routes in case of a wildfire — including one that would include widening the highway to four lanes.
—Susan Gill Vardon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for widen
Cite this Entry
“Widen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/widen. Accessed 5 Jan. 2026.
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