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broadside definition

broad·side (-sīd′)

noun

  1. the entire side of a ship above the waterline
  2. the simultaneous firing of all the guns on one side of a warship
  3. a vigorous or abusive attack in words, esp. in a newspaper
  4. the broad surface of any large object
    1. a large sheet of paper printed on one side, as with a political message
    2. in 17th-cent. England, a popular ballad printed on such a sheet (also broadside ballad)
    3. a large sheet of paper printed on both sides, as with advertising, and often folded

adverb

  1. with the side turned (to something) a boat drifting helplessly, broadside to the waves
  2. directly in the side the train rammed the car broadside
  3. indiscriminately to level charges broadside

transitive verb broadsided -·sid′ed, broadsiding -·sid′·ing

to hit or attack broadside or with a broadside

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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