loom large

Idioms  

1. Appear imminent in a threatening, magnified form. For example, The possibility of civil war loomed large on the horizon, or Martha wanted to take it easy for a week, but the bar exam loomed large. This term employs loom in the sense of “come into view,” a usage dating from the late 1500s.

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Example Sentences

The so-called averages committee at Dow Jones periodically decides whether a given stock should be deleted from the Dow and replaced with another stock, and with just 30 constituent stocks the committee’s decisions loom large.

From MarketWatch • May 30, 2026

There is little doubt that the Iran war will loom large over the Trump-Xi meeting.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

Given this history, Black constitutional understandings should loom large in any account of the original public meaning of the Reconstruction Amendments.

From Slate • Apr. 15, 2026

In the annals of central-bank mistakes, three loom large: 1973, 2008 and 2011.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Slights loom large, and a reprimand can reverberate into the night.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich