Skip to learning
Practice

THE IDIOM COLLECTION LEARN & PRACTISE

Give someone a wide berth

Understand the meaning. See it in context. Make it yours.

01 / UNDERSTAND

Meaning in plain English

Avoid someone or something, or keep well away from them.

02 / SEE IT IN CONTEXT

The expression in a sentence

  1. We gave the noisy café a wide berth and found a quieter place to study.

03 / CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Quick idiom quiz

Try the question without looking back, then write a sentence of your own. You can retry as often as you like.

Can you recall the expression?

Which expression from this lesson matches this meaning?

Avoid someone or something, or keep well away from them.
Show the answer

Give someone a wide berth — Avoid someone or something, or keep well away from them.

Try your own sentence (optional)

Make it yours

Write one sentence using “Give someone a wide berth” about your own life.

Check your sentence

Does your sentence match this meaning?

Avoid someone or something, or keep well away from them.

Compare: We gave the noisy café a wide berth and found a quieter place to study.

Check the spelling and how the expression fits the sentence. Your example can be different.

Self-review only. Your sentence is not automatically marked, saved or submitted.

This quiz is for practice. To save lesson completion on this device, complete the checks in the app.

Two walkers follow a curved path that keeps them away from the busy tables of a noisy outdoor café.

GO DEEPER

More ways to understand and use it

Picture the meaning

The walkers choose a route away from the crowded café. They give the café a wide berth: they deliberately avoid it.

When to use it

Use this informal expression when choosing to avoid a person, place or situation. It can refer to physical distance or avoiding involvement.

More examples in context

  • I give that busy junction a wide berth during rush hour.
  • In the story, the other characters give the unpredictable neighbour a wide berth.

Usage note

Spell the noun “berth”, not “birth”. The object comes before “a wide berth”: “give that road a wide berth”. It means avoidance, rather than offering someone more room as a gift.

A short conversation

A: Shall we take the road past the stadium?
B: I’d give it a wide berth tonight. There’s a big match.
A: Let’s use the quieter route.

One more practice question

What does giving a crowded road a wide berth mean?

A. Avoiding it or keeping well away from it.
B. Choosing it deliberately because it is crowded.

Check your answer

A. The idiom describes avoidance.

Related lessons

Meaning and usage checked against Cambridge Dictionary. Explanations, examples and conversation are original.

Share this idiom