widest

Widest is the superlative form of the English adjective wide. It is used to describe the greatest breadth or horizontal extent among a group of objects or along a cross-section of a single object.

In syntax, widest is typically placed before a noun: the widest street in town. It can also be used predicatively: that river is the widest in the region. The positive form is wide, the comparative is wider, and the superlative is widest.

Etymology: widest derives from the Old English word wīd (wide), with the standard English comparative and superlative suffixes -er and -est applied to form wider and widest.

Usage notes: widest emphasizes maximum width and is not generally used to express spaciousness in broader, non-technical senses. The terms wide, wider, and widest focus on horizontal extent, while words like broad or spacious can carry nuances related to overall size or openness.

In measurement and geometry, width is the dimension measured across an object from one side to the opposite side, perpendicular to its length. The widest point of an object is its maximum width along its cross-section, which may occur at a particular location along the object’s shape.