big deal
Americannoun
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an important or impressive person or thing.
to make a big deal out of nothing;
I hear he's a big deal on Wall Street now.
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(used ironically as an interjection to indicate that one considers something to be unimportant or unimpressive).
So you're the mayor's cousin—big deal!
idioms
interjection
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A matter of great interest or importance, as in Performing in Symphony Hall is a big deal for everyone in the chorus . [c. 1940] Also see under make a federal case out of .
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So what? Who cares? For example, So you got the job after all—well, big deal! This use of the phrase as an ironic interjection dates from approximately the same time.
Etymology
Origin of big deal
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He told Salon that the case before the court “could be a very big deal.”
From Salon
It’s a big deal, particularly for a market that has largely cooled to American films.
From Los Angeles Times
After receiving the award, the boy said: "Even to this day, I don't see it as a big deal but from other people's perspective it is."
From BBC
If the effort fails, it will be another bruise for an investment firm that recently stumbled in its attempt at another big deal buying the U.K.’s Telegraph and its sister paper the Spectator.
BTS's comeback is a big deal for fans, but also a huge moment for South Korea.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.