Widespread means found or happening in many places or among many people. When something is widespread, it reaches across a large area, affecting numerous locations or groups at once.

When a flu outbreak becomes widespread, it affects students across multiple schools or even entire cities, not just one classroom. A widespread belief is one that many people share across different communities or countries. Widespread wildfires might burn across several counties or states at once.

The word paints a picture of something spreading out like spilled water across a table: it covers a large area rather than staying in one puddle. You might read about widespread damage after a hurricane, meaning destruction scattered across a broad region. Scientists might study a widespread species of bird that lives on multiple continents, as opposed to a rare species found only on a single remote island.

Think of widespread as the opposite of localized or isolated. A single broken water fountain is a localized problem, but if fountains break in schools across your whole state, that's a widespread issue. When something becomes widespread, it demands more attention because it affects so many people and places.