broach 1. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

broach¹

PRONUNCIATION:	brch
TRANSITIVE VERB:	Inflected forms: broached, broach·ing, broach·es 1a. To bring up (a subject) for discussion or debate. b. To announce: We broached our plans for the new year. 2. To pierce in order to draw off liquid: broach a keg of beer. 3. To draw off (a liquid) by piercing a hole in a cask or other container. 4. To shape or enlarge (a hole) with a tapered, serrated tool.
NOUN:	1a. A tapered, serrated tool used to shape or enlarge a hole. b. The hole made by such a tool. 2. A spit for roasting meat. 3. A mason's narrow chisel. 4. A gimlet for tapping or broaching casks. 5. Variant of brooch.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English brochen, to pierce, probably from broche, pointed weapon or implement, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin ^*brocca, from Latin broccus, projecting.
OTHER FORMS:	broacher —NOUN
SYNONYMS:	broach¹, introduce, moot, raise These verbs mean to bring forward a point, topic, or question for consideration or discussion: broach the subject tactfully; introduce a tax bill before the legislature; an idea that was mooted before the committee; raised the problem of dropouts with the faculty.


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.