Broadway
WordNet
noun
(1) A street in Manhattan that passes through Times Square; famous for its theaters
WiktionaryText
Etymology
The Old English words "broad way" have been used to name wide roads and associated settlements for over a thousand years. Documented examples include Broadway, Somerset and Broadway, Worcestershire, England, which are listed in the Domesday Book census of 1086AD as "Bradewie" and "Bradeweia" respectively.
Proper noun
- A street name found in a number of anglophone settlements, typically referring to a wide road; a broad way.
- A settlement which grew up around such a road, eg. Broadway, Worcestershire, Broadway, Somerset.
- Notably, in the Borough of Manhattan, in New York City, a wide road cutting a lazy diagonal through the otherwise rigid grid-system.
- The theater district of Manhattan; specifically, those theaters (most of which are actually not fronting on Broadway) covered by contracts between the theater owners and the theatrical unions.
- The American theater industry.
- The highest straight in poker, Ace-King-Queen-Jack-Ten
Adjective
Broadway
- Of or pertaining to Broadway theaters, to the shows performed there, or to persons associated with them, as with "Broadway star" or "Broadway producer".