widely

Universal Words adverb 1 by a lot of people; in or to many places: a widely held belief * The idea is now widely accepted. * He has travelled widely in Asia. * Her books are widely read (= a lot of people read them). * He's an educated, widely-read man (= he has read a lot of books). * The term is widely used in everyday speech. 2 to a large degree; a lot: Standards vary widely.