broach

[ brohch ]

noun

1. Machinery. an elongated, tapered, serrated cutting tool for shaping and enlarging holes.
2. a spit for roasting meat.
3. a gimlet for tapping casks.
4. (in a lock) a pin receiving the barrel of a key.
5. Also broach spire. Architecture. an octagonal spire rising directly from a tower without any intervening feature.
6. Masonry. a pointed tool for the rough dressing of stone.
7. brooch.

verb (used with object)

1. to enlarge and finish with a broach.

   Synonyms: advance, submit, propose, introduce

2. to mention or suggest for the first time:

   to broach a subject.

3. to draw (beer, liquor, etc.), as by tapping:

   to broach beer from a keg.

4. to tap or pierce.
5. Masonry. to shape or dress (a block of stone).

verb (used without object)

1. Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to veer to windward.
2. to break the surface of water; rise from the sea, as a fish or a submarine.

broach

¹

/ brəʊtʃ /

verb

1. nautical usually foll by to to cause (a sailing vessel) to swerve sharply and dangerously or (of a sailing vessel) to swerve sharply and dangerously in a following sea, so as to be broadside to the waves

broach

²

/ brəʊtʃ /

verb

1. tr to initiate (a topic) for discussion

   to broach a dangerous subject

2. tr to tap or pierce (a container) to draw off (a liquid)

   to broach a cask

   to broach wine

3. tr to open in order to begin to use

   to broach a shipment

4. intr to break the surface of the water

   the trout broached after being hooked

5. tr machinery to enlarge and finish (a hole) by reaming

noun

1. a long tapered toothed cutting tool for enlarging holes
2. a spit for roasting meat, etc
3. a roof covering the corner triangle on the top of a square tower having an octagonal spire
4. a pin, forming part of some types of lock, that registers in the hollow bore of a key
5. a tool used for tapping casks
6. a less common spelling of brooch

Derived Forms

• ˈbroacher, noun

Other Words From

• broach·er noun
• un·broached adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of broach¹

1175–1225; (noun) Middle English broche < Anglo-French, Old French < Vulgar Latin *brocca spike, horn, tap of a cask ( Medieval Latin broca ), noun use of feminine of Latin adj. brocc ( h ) us projecting (said of teeth); (v.) Middle English brochen < Old French broch ( i ) er, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of broach¹

C18: perhaps from broach ¹in obsolete sense of turn on a spit

Origin of broach²

C14: from Old French broche , from Vulgar Latin brocca (unattested), from Latin brochus projecting

Example Sentences

He broached the subject when saying he felt no trepidation about working with Ridley Scott on the upcoming “Gladiator II” film.

From Los Angeles Times

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman did the same when Buehler broached the topic at the ballpark.

From Los Angeles Times

In 1986, Baker first broached the topic in a note to the cardinal after Mahony appealed for priests to report inappropriate behavior, according to internal church records.

From Los Angeles Times

Head teacher Emma Murray said broaching issues like misogyny and sexism with young children could be "really challenging", but that it was a topic teachers had to be prepared to deal with.

From BBC

This matters, as Hayes cites, because Faulkner broached the question to give Trump a chance to retreat from his fascist rhetoric and he refused to take that hint.

From Salon

Related Words

• bring up
• hint at
• moot
• touch on