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Nautical language is both fascinating and fun, what with its jibbooms and spirketing, its scuppers and poop decks. As these four terms demonstrate, not all ship-related words sail over to landlubber vocabulary, but broadside is one that has. It originally referred to the side of a ship above the water, then later to the guns arrayed along that side. The further use of broadside to refer to the firing of all those guns at once eventually led to the figurative “volley of abuse” sense—a strongly worded attack intended to shiver one’s timbers. The printing-related uses of broadside, referring originally to sheets of paper, and then to matter printed on such paper, arose independently.
Synonyms
Examples of broadside in a Sentence
Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 1 Aug. 2024
Newly available documents reveal that this broadside triggered a showdown in Washington just before Christmas 1994.
—Serhii Plokhy, Foreign Affairs, 22 Nov. 2019
Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 30 Oct. 2024
In one instance, Wallace witnessed a crash when a car cut over the divider in front of a semi, which hit it broadside.
—Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 15 Apr. 2024
David K. Li, NBC News, 3 Oct. 2024
Juan Soliz, who had been drinking, broadsided their car, according to authorities.
—Nell Salzman, Chicago Tribune, 4 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for broadside 
Dictionary Entries Near broadside
Cite this Entry
“Broadside.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/broadside. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
broadside
1 of 2 noun
broadside
2 of 2 adverb
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