Wide vs. Narrow — What's the Difference?

Of great or more than average width.

Of small width; not wide.

Encompassing a large number or range.

Limited in extent, amount, or scope.

Fully open or extended.

Barely achieved or narrowly avoided.

Away from a given point.

Limited in outlook; close-minded.

Of great or more than average width

Of small or limited width, especially in comparison with length.

Including a great variety of people or things

Limited in area or scope; cramped.

At a considerable or specified distance from an intended point or target

Lacking flexibility; rigid

To the full extent

Barely sufficient; close

Far from a particular or intended point or target

Painstakingly thorough or attentive; meticulous

A ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side.

(Linguistics) Tense.

Having a specified extent from side to side

To reduce in width or extent; make narrower.

Extending over a great distance from side to side; broad

To limit or restrict

Having great extent or range; including much or many

To become narrower; contract.

Fully open or extended

A part of little width, as a pass through mountains.

To the side of or at a distance from a given boundary, limit, or goal

A body of water with little width that connects two larger bodies of water.

(Baseball) Outside.

A part of a river or an ocean current that is not wide.

(Sports) Being toward or near one of the side boundaries of a playing area, such as a sideline on a football field.

Having a small width; not wide; having opposite edges or sides that are close, especially by comparison to length or depth.

Deviating or straying from something expected or specified

Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.

(Linguistics) Lax.

(figuratively) Restrictive; without flexibility or latitude.

Over a great distance; extensively

Contracted; of limited scope; bigoted

To the full extent; completely.

Having a small margin or degree.

To the side of or at a distance from a given boundary, limit, or goal.

(dated) Limited as to means; straitened

(Sports) Toward or near one of the sides of a playing area

Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.

A ball bowled outside of the batsman's reach, counting as a run for the batting team in cricket.

Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.

Having a large physical extent from side to side.

(phonetics) Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; distinguished from wide.

Large in scope.

A narrow passage, especially a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water.

(sports) Operating at the side of the playing area.

(transitive) To reduce in width or extent; to contract.

On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.

(intransitive) To get narrower.

Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the organs in the mouth.

(of a person or eyes) To partially lower one's eyelids in a way usually taken to suggest a defensive, aggressive or penetrating look.

Vast, great in extent, extensive.

(knitting) To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.

(obsolete) Located some distance away; distant, far.

To convert to a data type that cannot hold as many distinct values.

(obsolete) Far from truth, propriety, necessity, etc.

Of little breadth; not wide or broad; having little distance from side to side; as, a narrow board; a narrow street; a narrow hem.

(computing) Of or supporting a greater range of text characters than can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.

Of little extent; very limited; circumscribed.

Antagonistic, provocative.

Having but a little margin; having barely sufficient space, time, or number, etc.; close; near{5}; - with special reference to some peril or misfortune; as, a narrow shot; a narrow escape; a narrow miss; a narrow majority.

Extensively

Limited as to means; straitened; pinching; as, narrow circumstances.

Completely

Contracted; of limited scope; illiberal; bigoted; as, a narrow mind; narrow views.

Away from or to one side of a given goal

Parsimonious; niggardly; covetous; selfish.

So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.

Scrutinizing in detail; close; accurate; exact.

(cricket) A ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score

Formed (as a vowel) by a close position of some part of the tongue in relation to the palate; or (according to Bell) by a tense condition of the pharynx; - distinguished from wide; as ē (ēve) and Ō (fŌd), etc., from ĭ (ĭll) and Ŏ (fŎt), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, 13.

Having considerable distance or extent between the sides; spacious across; much extended in a direction at right angles to that of length; not narrow; broad; as, wide cloth; a wide table; a wide highway; a wide bed; a wide hall or entry.

A narrow passage; esp., a contracted part of a stream, lake, or sea; a strait connecting two bodies of water; - usually in the plural; as, The Narrows of New York harbor.

Having a great extent every way; extended; spacious; broad; vast; extensive; as, a wide plain; the wide ocean; a wide difference.

To lessen the breadth of; to contract; to draw into a smaller compass; to reduce the width or extent of.

Of large scope; comprehensive; liberal; broad; as, wide views; a wide understanding.

To contract the reach or sphere of; to make less liberal or more selfish; to limit; to confine; to restrict; as, to narrow one's views or knowledge; to narrow a question in discussion.

Of a certain measure between the sides; measuring in a direction at right angles to that of length; as, a table three feet wide.

To contract the size of, as a stocking, by taking two stitches into one.

Remote; distant; far.

To become less broad; to contract; to become narrower; as, the sea narrows into a strait.

Far from truth, from propriety, from necessity, or the like.

Not to step out enough to the one hand or the other; as, a horse narrows.

On one side or the other of the mark; too far side-wise from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.

To contract the size of a stocking or other knit article, by taking two stitches into one.

Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the mouth organs; - opposed to primary as used by Mr. Bell, and to narrow as used by Mr. Sweet. The effect, as explained by Mr. Bell, is due to the relaxation or tension of the pharynx; as explained by Mr. Sweet and others, it is due to the action of the tongue. The wide of ē (ēve) is ĭ (ĭll); of ā (āte) is ĕ (ĕnd), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, 13-15.

A narrow strait connecting two bodies of water

Having or showing a wide difference between the highest and lowest price, amount of supply, etc.; as, a wide opening; wide prices, where the prices bid and asked differ by several points.

Make or become more narrow or restricted;

To a distance; far; widely; to a great distance or extent; as, his fame was spread wide.

Define clearly;

So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.

Become more special;

So as to be or strike far from, or on one side of, an object or purpose; aside; astray.

Become tight or as if tight;

That which is wide; wide space; width; extent.

Not wide;

That which goes wide, or to one side of the mark.

Limited in size or scope;

Having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other;

Lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view;

Broad in scope or content;

Very limited in degree;

(used of eyes) fully open or extended;

Characterized by painstaking care and detailed examination;

Very large in expanse or scope;

Precise and specific.

Great in degree;

Great in range or scope;

Having ample fabric;

Not on target;

With or by a broad space;

To the fullest extent possible;

Far from the intended target;

To or over a great extent or range; far;

To a great degree or at a large distance from a point.

No, it can also refer to a range, like a "wide variety."

Yes, depending on the context or compared dimensions.

Generally, yes. It implies limited or prejudiced views.

Casting a "wide net" means reaching out to or including many.

Yes, in contexts like a "narrow focus" indicating precision.

Not always. For example, "wide off the mark" implies inaccuracy.

Yes, a "narrow" assessment or focus denotes specificity.

A "clear escape" or "easy escape."

Yes, it means to reduce options or focus on specifics.

A "wide" perspective implies openness to various viewpoints.

Yes, like in "narrowly missed" or "narrow escape."

Yes, as in "wide of the target," meaning far from it.

"Wide awake" means being fully alert or completely awake.

No, it means winning by a small margin.

It denotes a large variety or spectrum.