Definition of give (someone or something) a wide berth
: to avoid or stay away from (someone or something) I could see that she was in a bad mood, so I gave her a wide berth.
Is it wide girth or wide berth?
What's the origin of the phrase 'A wide berth'?
'Wide berth' is most commonly found in the phrases 'keep a wide berth of', 'give a wide berth to' etc. It was originally a nautical term. We now think of a ship's berth as the place where the ship is moored.
What figure of speech is wide berth?
Today, there is also a figurative meaning to the phrase give a wide berth, meaning to steer clear of someone or something, to keep your distance from someone or something, to avoid someone or something. The first use of the phrase give a wide berth in the figurative sense was by Sir Walter Scott in 1829.
