Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - widen

(widens, widening, widened) 1. If you widen something or if it widens, it becomes greater in measurement from one side or edge to the other. He had an operation last year to widen a heart artery... The river widens considerably as it begins to turn east. VERB: V n, V 2. If you widen something or if it widens, it becomes greater in range or it affects a larger number of people or things. U.S. prosecutors have widened a securities-fraud investigation... The search for my brother widened... VERB: V n, V 3. If your eyes widen, they open more. His eyes widened as he spoke the words. VERB: V 4. If a difference or gap widens or if something widens it, it becomes greater. Wage differences in the two areas are widening... ...policies that widen the gap between the rich and the poor. VERB: V, V n