broaden my horizons

Meaning

1. 1phraseidiomfigurative

   To experience new places, ideas or activities so that you understand more and become more open-minded.

   Grammar: The possessive changes: broaden my, your, his or her horizons.

   Patterns

   • broaden someone's horizons
   • broaden your horizons by doing something

   I moved abroad to broaden my horizons.

   Reading books from other countries can broaden my horizons.

   He joined the club to broaden his horizons and meet new people.

Word forms

Common combinations

travel to broaden my horizons

I travel to broaden my horizons and learn from others.

broaden my horizons by

She broadened her horizons by studying a new language.

broaden horizons

A year abroad can broaden anyone's horizons.

really broaden my horizons

The internship really broadened my horizons.

want to broaden my horizons

I want to broaden my horizons before I pick a career.

Synonyms and how they differ

expand your mind

Expand your mind is similar but suggests learning ideas, while broaden your horizons includes new places and experiences.

widen your outlook

Widen your outlook is plainer and more formal, and it focuses on opinions rather than experience.

try new things

Try new things is casual and describes the action but not the result of understanding more.

open your mind

Open your mind stresses willingness to accept new ideas, which is only part of broadening horizons.

Opposites

Word family

broaden verb

to make wider

horizon noun

the line where land meets sky; also the range of your experience

broad-minded adjective

open to different views

horizontal adjective

flat and level

Commonly confused: broaden my horizons or broaden my horizon?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “broaden my horizons”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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