Countrywide means affecting, available in, or extending across an entire country. When something happens countrywide, it reaches from coast to coast, touching every state and region.

A countrywide search for a missing person involves police departments in every state working together. A countrywide shortage of a popular toy means stores everywhere have run out, from Maine to California. When a new law takes effect countrywide, it applies to everyone in the nation, not just people in certain regions.

The word emphasizes scale and reach. A local bakery might expand to a countrywide chain with locations in hundreds of cities. A storm might cause countrywide power outages, leaving millions without electricity. A countrywide celebration, like Independence Day, brings together people in small towns and major cities alike.

You'll often see countrywide used when describing businesses, policies, or events that operate at a national level. It's similar to nationwide, and the two words can usually be used interchangeably. Both capture that sense of something touching every corner of a country, from its smallest communities to its largest communities.