jumbo
Americannoun
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a very large person, animal, or thing.
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U.S. Nautical.
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a forestaysail having a boom jumbo boom along its foot, used especially on schooners.
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a sail used in place of a course on a square-rigged ship, having the form of an isosceles triangle set apex downward.
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a narrow triangular sail set point downward in place of a foresail on a topsail schooner.
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adjective
noun
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informal
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a very large person or thing
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( as modifier )
a jumbo box of detergent
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See jumbo jet
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of jumbo
First recorded in 1800–10; origin uncertain; popularized as the name of a large elephant purchased and exhibited by P.T. Barnum in 1882
Explanation
Something that's jumbo is extra large. Your jumbo television might look funny in your tiny apartment. Jumbo is an informal adjective that describes anything enormous. You might spy the word on a menu at a seafood restaurant that serves "jumbo shrimp," or hear it when you're boarding a massive "jumbo jet." The word comes from a famous elephant, Jumbo, known for being the largest in captivity in the 1800s, and purchased from the London Zoo by circus owner P.T. Barnum in 1882.
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.
Cigars and Stripes BBQ in Berwyn, Ill., features a Muffler Man smoking a cigar and holding a jumbo bottle of barbecue sauce.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
The $400 million overhaul of the jumbo jet—before it becomes Trump’s own this summer—modified the plane’s security measures, not aesthetics.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Among the aircraft leaving Dubai were the super jumbo A380s flown by flag carrier Emirates.
From Barron's • Mar. 5, 2026
Preparations began last summer for the Pentagon to refit the Qatari jumbo jet that is expected to serve as Air Force One.
From BBC • Feb. 18, 2026
I sucked in a jumbo gulp of air and opened the front door again.
From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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.
