broadside: Meaning and Definition of

broad•side

Pronunciation: (brôd'sīd"), [key]
— n., adv., v., -sid•ed, -sid•ing.
—n.
  1. the whole side of a ship above the water line, from the bow to the quarter.
    1. all the guns that can be fired from one side of a warship.
    2. a simultaneous discharge of all the guns on one side of a warship.
  2. any strong or comprehensive attack, as by criticism.
    1. a sheet of paper printed on one or both sides, as for distribution or posting.
    2. any printed advertising circular.
  3. any broad surface or side, as of a house.
  4. Also calleda song, chiefly in 16th- and 17th-century England, written on a topical subject, printed on broadsides, and sung in public, as on a street corner, by a professional balladeer.
—adv.
  1. with the side, esp. with the broader side, facing toward a given point or object: The truck hit the fence broadside.
  2. in a wide-ranging manner; at random: to attack the President's policies broadside.
—v.i.
  1. to proceed or go broadside.
  2. to fire a broadside or broadsides.
—v.t.
  1. to collide with or run into the side of (a vehicle, object, person, etc.): We got broadsided on the freeway.
  2. to make concerted verbal attacks on: The President was broadsided by the opposition.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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