big data

American  

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. Computers. data sets, typically consisting of billions or trillions of records, that are so vast and complex that they require new and powerful computational resources to process.

   Supercomputers can analyze big data to create models of global climate change.

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big data British  

plural noun

1. computing data held in such large amounts that it can be difficult to process

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Etymology

Origin of big data

First recorded in 1975–80, for an earlier sense

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

big data

Sarah Brayne, a sociologist at the University of Texas at Austin, spent time inside the Los Angeles Police Department studying how it uses big data.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2026

McCollum had only heard about the tech park from a neighbor in February 2025—and immediately grew concerned, having already seen reports about big data centers’ impacts in residential Georgia, from water use to noise pollution.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

“They see the future in, or at least their interest is in, big data centers … not in addition to, but in place of, training human minds to be leading the way,” Stassun said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026

“If you are banking on never getting caught in the past for not filing, you’re banking on an old system,” Whatley said, noting the rise of big data and artificial intelligence at the IRS.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 6, 2026

That’s exactly the type of bodacious, big data center—AI-driven data-center project—that he’s looking for,’” Perry recounted.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

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