abroad — ODE · Shobdo

abroad /əˈbrɔːd

▸ adverb

1 in or to a foreign country or countries:

we usually go abroad for a week in May

competition from companies at home and abroad.

2 in different directions; over a wide area:

millions of seeds are annually scattered abroad.

▪ (of a feeling or rumour) widely current:

there is a new buccaneering spirit abroad.

▪ freely moving about:

hospital inmates abroad on the streets of the town.

3 archaic out of doors:

few people ventured abroad from their warm houses.

4 archaic wide of the mark; in error.

▸ noun [mass noun] foreign countries considered collectively:

servicemen returning from abroad.

– ORIGIN Middle English: from a-2 ‘on’ + broad.