What does widener mean?
A widener is a noun for a person or thing whose function is to make something wider. It can refer to a device used to enlarge a hole, passage, opening, or material, particularly in technical and manufacturing settings. The word may also be used for someone who causes something to become broader or more extensive, although that sense is less frequent than the mechanical or occupational one. The related noun expander is often more idiomatic when describing a tool that increases the size of an opening, while widener remains a useful, if less common, choice. Its formation is transparent: it combines widen with the agent or instrument suffix -er, so a widener is literally something that performs the action of widening.
nounA widener is a person or thing that widens something, especially a tool or device used to enlarge an opening or increase the width of a material.
- A person or thing that widens something.
- A tool or device used to enlarge an opening, passage, or material.
"The technician used a widener to enlarge the opening so the new pipe would fit."
"A widener helped the worker shape the metal into a wider band."
"The instrument was fitted with a widener to improve the flow through the tube."
The plural is used when referring to multiple people, devices, or tools that widen something.
"The crew replaced the worn wideners before beginning the next installation."
A widener is the opposite of a narrow-minded person in the most literal sense: it makes the space bigger.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does widener come from?
Widener is a modern derivative of widen, formed with the suffix -er, which turns an action into a person or thing associated with that action. Widen itself is related to wide, whose Old English ancestor meant broad or extended. The same root also underlies width and widespread.
How widener is actually used
Widener is relatively uncommon in general modern English and is most often used in technical, manufacturing, or occupational contexts. In such contexts, expander may be the more natural modern term.
Easily confused with widener
A widener makes something wider, whereas a winder winds material or thread around an object.