What does broadcasted mean?
'Broadcasted' is the past tense and past participle of the verb 'broadcast', which means to transmit programmes or signals by radio or television for public reception. The word carries a distinctly modern, media-related flavour: it appears constantly in journalism, sports reporting, and entertainment coverage, as in 'the match was broadcasted live worldwide'. A second, older sense comes from agriculture, where broadcasting originally meant scattering seed widely across a field rather than sowing it in rows. What makes 'broadcasted' interesting is that it competes directly with the unchanged form 'broadcast'. Like verbs such as 'cut' and 'set', 'broadcast' has traditionally served as its own past tense, and many dictionaries and style guides still prefer this invariant form. However, 'broadcasted' has become thoroughly established in American English and informal writing on both sides of the Atlantic. Writers should choose one form and apply it consistently; in formal or British contexts, 'broadcast' remains the safer default.
verb (past tense and past participle of 'broadcast')The simple past tense and past participle of the verb 'broadcast', meaning to have transmitted a radio or television programme, or to have scattered seed over ground. It is widely used in everyday American English and informal contexts, though 'broadcast' is traditionally preferred as the unchanging past form.
- Transmitted by radio or television: having sent out a programme or signal for public reception.
- Scattered seed broadly over the ground (agricultural sense of the base verb).
"The station broadcasted the championship final live across the entire country."
"The network broadcasted the awards ceremony to millions of viewers around the world."
"In earlier centuries, farmers broadcasted wheat seed by hand before mechanical drills were invented."
Unlike most English verbs ending in '-cast', 'broadcast' famously refuses to take an '-ed' — yet millions of Americans use 'broadcasted' anyway, making it one of English's most quietly contested verb forms.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of broadcasted
The word derives from 'broadcast', formed in the early 18th century from 'broad' plus 'cast', originally describing the wide scattering of seed by hand across open fields rather than sowing it in rows. In the early 20th century, the metaphor was extended to the new technologies of radio and then television, where signals are 'scattered' widely to a broad audience. Related words include 'cast' itself, from Old Norse 'kasta', along with its many compounds such as 'outcast' and 'forecast'.
Related word forms
How broadcasted is actually used
'Broadcasted' is fully accepted in everyday American usage but is often avoided in formal British writing, where the unchanged form 'broadcast' serves as both present and past. Neither is wrong; the choice largely depends on register and regional convention.
Easily confused with broadcasted
'Broadcast' is the traditional, invariant past tense and participle of the verb (as with 'cut' and 'hit'), while 'broadcasted' is the regularized -ed form that is common in American English but considered nonstandard by many style guides.