broad gauge

¹

noun

, Railroads.

1. gauge15

broad-gauge

²

or broad-gauged

[ brawd-geyj ]

adjective

1. Railroads. of or relating to equipment designed for a railroad having track of a broad gauge:

   broad-gauge rolling stock.

2. of wide scope, application, or experience:

   broad-gauge efforts to improve the health of our citizens.

broad gauge

noun

1. a railway track with a greater distance between the lines than the standard gauge of 56 1 2 inches (about 1.44 metres) used now by most mainline railway systems

adjective

1. of, relating to, or denoting a railway having this track

Word History and Origins

Origin of broad gauge¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Origin of broad gauge²

1835–45, for an earlier sense

Example Sentences

The first logistical nightmare is shifting wagons or their loads from broad gauge tracks - 1,524mm wide, in use in the former Soviet Union - to narrower European gauge - 1,432mm wide.

From BBC

The broad gauges of inflation have been running at the highest rates in decades.

From New York Times

The GSIA, whose member bodies track growth in their region, said professionally managed assets, using a broad gauge of what it means to invest sustainably, account for 36% of total assets under management.

From Reuters

Annual growth in outstanding total social financing, a broad gauge of credit that includes off-balance sheet financing, slowed to 10.1 percent in August, the lowest on record.

From Reuters

Beginning in the early 1990s, they were gradually converted from a meter gauge system to broad gauge, which allows for bigger, faster, and more trains.

From National Geographic