Join free

broadway

English · Français · Deutsch · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

Broadway¹

  • /ˈbɹɔdweɪ/

Where it comes from

By surface analysis, a proprialization from broadway. The Old English words "brad weg" have been used to name wide roads and associated settlements, in common noun and proper noun forms, for over a thousand years. Documented examples include Broadway, Somerset and Broadway, Worcestershire, England, which are listed in the Domesday Book census of 1086AD as "Bradewie" and "Bradeweia" respectively.

Sense of “government of Manitoba” is from the address of the Manitoba Legislative Building, on Broadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

proper noun

  1. uncountable A street name, typically for a wide road: a specific broad way.
  2. uncountable A place name for a settlement which grew up around such a road. For example, Broadway, Worcestershire, Broadway, Somerset.
  3. uncountable The wide road which runs diagonally through Manhattan, New York City.

    Similar: Great White Way

  4. uncountable The theater district of Manhattan.
  5. uncountable The theatres in the Broadway theatre district; especially those covered by contracts between the owners and theatrical unions. Coordinate term: off-Broadway
  6. metonymically, uncountable The American theater industry. Among the ensemble’s strange, outmoded, “original” instruments — the feral horns, sour violins, wooden flutes, cellos without endpins — she seemed right at home, despite her Broadway provenance.
  7. metonymically, uncountable The government of Manitoba (from the Legislative Building's address, on Broadway). Angry city councillors lashed out against both Broadway and Ottawa on Wednesday, claiming the Doer government and the Harper Conservatives are spending millions on infrastructure projects Winnipeg doesn't want and not enough on road repairs the city needs.
  8. uncountable A village and civil parish in Wychavon district, Worcestershire (OS grid ref SP0937).
  9. uncountable A village and civil parish in Somerset, previously in South Somerset district (OS grid ref ST3215).
  10. uncountable A hamlet in The Havens community, Pembrokeshire, Wales (OS grid ref SM8713).
  11. uncountable A village in County Wexford, Ireland.
  12. uncountable A community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  13. uncountable A neighbourhood of Newark, Essex County, New Jersey.
  14. uncountable An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Warren County, New Jersey.
  15. uncountable A town in Lee County, North Carolina.
  16. uncountable An unincorporated community in Taylor Township, Union County, Ohio.
  17. uncountable A town in Rockingham County, Virginia.
  18. uncountable A locality in the Upper Lachlan council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia.
  19. uncountable A rare surname

noun

  1. slang The highest straight in poker, ace-king-queen-jack-ten.

adjective

  1. broadly, not comparable, of the proper noun senses Flashy; showy. Since he got the recording contract, he's gone all Broadway.
  2. not comparable, slang Of, or pertaining to, the cards that make up a Broadway straight. Broadway connectors

broadway²

  • /ˈbɹɔːdweɪ/

Where it comes from

From a Middle English antecedent, from an Old English one; by surface analysis, broad + way; more at Broadway.

noun broadways

  1. An esplanade. Just above the doorway, which opened spang onto the broadway of Datura, a grinning face peered down upon the visitors, its eyes ruby-colored glass.
  2. slang A straight from ace to ten in Texas hold 'em, or any of the cards (ace, king, queen, jack, ten) used to make such a straight.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: theatre, theater, tryout, hale, comedy, thoroughfare, roadway, highway, freeway, avenue, boulevard, main drag, street, road, route, motorway

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"broadway." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/broadway. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

broadway. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/broadway

Chicago

"broadway." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/broadway.

BibTeX
@misc{broadway_2026,
  title = {broadway},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/broadway},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}