What does breadth mean?
Word: Breadth
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Breadth means the distance from one side of something to the other. It can also mean a wide range of something.
Synonyms: width
How do you spell breadth?
Syllables: breadth
Tricky part: The d before the ending is easy to miss because it is barely heard. Leave it out and you have written a different, very common word.
Watch out for: breadht, breadeth
Memory tip: Tap your desk once as your tongue touches the d. Your hand will remember what your ear misses.
Idioms and Phrases
- the length and breadth of something: in or to all parts of a place Example: "Our team travelled the length and breadth of the country for the matches."
Breadth in a sentence
Example 1: Measure the length and the breadth of your notebook with a ruler.
Example 2: The breadth of the river surprised everyone on the boat.
Example 3: Her breadth of knowledge about birds impressed the forest guide.
Fun Fact
The th ending was added around the 1500s to match length, its partner in measuring. Before that, English used a shorter form with no such ending.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Twins
Choose the option that fills both blanks correctly:
1. Take a deep ___ before you go under the water. 2. The ___ of the canal at this point is nearly fifty metres.
a) breadth/breath
b) 'breadth' in both
c) 'breath' in both
d) breath/breadth
Show answer
d) breath/breadth. Air goes into the lungs in sentence 1; sentence 2 is a measurement across the water.
Spellacadabra
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
br_ _dth
a) ea
b) ie
c) ee
d) ae
Show answer
a) ea. The short e sound here is written the same way as in head and thread.
Sound Check
In which word is 'th' pronounced differently?
a) breadth
b) smooth
c) tooth
d) earth
Show answer
b) smooth. Smooth ends with the voiced sound of this and that; the others end with the soft sound of thin.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with their meanings:
1. breadth 2. depth 3. height a. how far a thing stretches across b. how tall a thing is c. how far down a thing goes
a) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. Across, down and up: each measurement follows its own direction.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A classroom floor is 9 m long and 6 m wide. What is its breadth?
a) 9 m
b) 15 m
c) 54 m
d) 6 m
Show answer
d) 6 m
2. Which bookshelf best shows a student's breadth of reading?
a) many copies of a single title
b) the same book in two sizes
c) books on many different topics
d) one very long book of stories
Show answer
c) books on many different topics
