Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

Biggs

[bigz]
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. E(dward George) Pow·er [pou-er] /ˈpaʊ ər/, 1906–77, English organist in the U.S.

bigg1

or big

[big]
noun Scot. and North England.
  1. four-rowed barley.

Origin of bigg1

1400–50; late Middle English big, bigge < Old Norse bygg barley, cognate with Old English bēow

bigg2

[big]
verb (used with object)
  1. big2.

big2

or bigg

[big]
verb (used with object), bigged, big·ging. British Dialect.
  1. to build.

Origin of big2

1150–1200; Middle English biggen orig., to inhabit < Old Norse byggja to inhabit, cognate with Old English bū(i)an, German bauen
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for biggs

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for biggs

big1

adjective bigger or biggest
  1. of great or considerable size, height, weight, number, power, or capacity
  2. having great significance; importanta big decision
  3. important through having power, influence, wealth, authority, etcthe big four banks
  4. (intensifier usually qualifying something undesirable)a big dope
  5. informal considerable in extent or intensity (esp in the phrase in a big way)
    1. eldermy big brother
    2. grown-upwhen you're big, you can stay up later
    1. generous; magnanimousthat's very big of you
    2. (in combination)big-hearted
  8. (often foll by with) brimming; fullmy heart is big with sadness
  9. extravagant; boastfulhe's full of big talk
  10. (of wine) full-bodied, with a strong aroma and flavour
  11. too big for one's boots or too big for one's breeches conceited; unduly self-confident
  12. in an advanced stage of pregnancy (esp in the phrase big with child)
  13. big on informal enthusiastic aboutthat company is big on research
adverb informal
  1. boastfully; pretentiously (esp in the phrase talk big)
  2. in an exceptional way; wellhis talk went over big with the audience
  3. on a grand scale (esp in the phrase think big)
See also big up
Derived Formsbiggish, adjectivebigness, noun

Word Origin

C13: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian dialect bugge big man

big2

verb bigs, bigging, bigged or bug (bʌɡ) Scot
  1. to build
  2. to excavate (earth) into a pile

Word Origin

from Old Norse byggja; related to Old English būian to inhabit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for biggs

big

adj.

c.1300, northern England dialect, "powerful, strong," of obscure origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Norwegian dialectal bugge "great man"). Old English used micel in many of the same senses. Meaning "of great size" is late 14c.; that of "grown up" is attested from 1550s. Sense of "important" is from 1570s. Meaning "generous" is U.S. colloquial by 1913.

Big band as a musical style is from 1926. Slang big head "conceit" is first recorded 1850. Big business "large commercial firms collectively" is 1905; big house "penitentiary" is U.S. underworld slang first attested 1915 (in London, "a workhouse," 1851). In financial journalism, big ticket items so called from 1956. Big lie is from Hitler's grosse Lüge.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with biggs

big

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.