big

¹

[big]

adjective

bigger, biggest 

1. large, as in size, height, width, or amount.

   a big house; a big quantity.

   Synonyms: extensive, voluminous, capacious, massive, bulky, immense, huge
   Antonyms: little

2. of major concern, importance, gravity, or the like.

   a big problem.

3. outstanding for a specified quality.

   a big liar; a big success.

4. important, as in influence, standing, or wealth.

   a big man in his field.

   Synonyms: consequential

5. grown-up; mature.

   big enough to know better.

6. elder.

   my big sister.

7. doing business or conducted on a large scale; major in size or importance.

   big government.

8. consisting of the largest or most influential companies in an industry.

   Big steel wants to lower prices, but the smaller mills don't.

9. Informal.,  known or used widely; popular.

   Nouvelle cuisine became big in the 1970s.

10. magnanimous; generous; kindly.

    big enough to forgive.

11. boastful; pompous; pretentious; haughty.

    a big talker.

12. loud; orotund.

    a big voice.

13. (of clothing or a clothing design) made of or distinguished by voluminous fabric that is loosely or softly shaped and fitted.

    a big shirt; the big look.

14. (of a wine) having more than average flavor, body, and alcoholic content.

15. filled; brimming.

    eyes big with tears.

16. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S.,  pregnant.

17. Obsolete.,  very strong; powerful.

adverb

1. Informal.,  boastfully; pretentiously.

   to act big; to talk big.

2. Informal.,  with great success; successfully.

   to go over big.

noun

1. Sports Slang.,  the bigs, the highest level of professional competition, as the major leagues in baseball.

big

²

Or bigg

[big]

verb (used with object)

British Dialect.

bigged, bigging 

1. to build.

big

¹

/ bɪɡ /

adjective

1. of great or considerable size, height, weight, number, power, or capacity

2. having great significance; important

   a big decision

3. important through having power, influence, wealth, authority, etc

   the 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 )

6. 1. elder

      my big brother

   2. grown-up

      when you're big, you can stay up later

7. 1. generous; magnanimous

      that's very big of you

   2. ( in combination )

      big-hearted

8. (often foll by with) brimming; full

   my heart is big with sadness

9. extravagant; boastful

   he's full of big talk

10. (of wine) full-bodied, with a strong aroma and flavour

11. conceited; unduly self-confident

12. in an advanced stage of pregnancy (esp in the phrase big with child )

13. informal,  enthusiastic about

    that company is big on research

adverb

1. boastfully; pretentiously (esp in the phrase talk big )

2. in an exceptional way; well

   his talk went over big with the audience

3. on a grand scale (esp in the phrase think big )

big

²

/ bɪɡ /

verb

1. to build

2. to excavate (earth) into a pile

Other Word Forms

• biggish adjective
• bigly adverb
• bigness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of big¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English big(ge), beg(ge); of unknown origin

Origin of big²

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English biggen, beggen, buggen, originally, “to inhabit, reside,” from Old Norse byggja, byggva “to inhabit, settle,” cognate with Old English bū(i)an, German bauen “to build, erect”

Word History and Origins

Origin of big¹

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

Origin of big²

from Old Norse byggja ; related to Old English būian to inhabit

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. big with child. great.

2. be big on, to have a special liking or enthusiasm for.

   Mother is big on family get-togethers.

More idioms and phrases containing big

• bigger
• go over big
• great (big) guns
• hit it big
• in a big way
• little frog in a big pond
• make a federal case (big deal)
• talk big
• think big
• too big for one's breeches
• what's the (big) idea

Example Sentences

Those worries have intensified as analysts struggle to see how the vast sums of money the biggest players are throwing at one another all fit together.

Read more on BBC

Some are living up to expectations while some are surpassing them, so who are they and how have they made the transition to the big league look easy?

Read more on BBC

Harvey's mother, Caroline Willgoose, said she felt "like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders".

Read more on BBC

A glut of crude has been building around the world for months, and is now too big to ignore.

Read more on Barron's

But it overlooks a basic principle: If the government reliably enforced the gold standard, there wouldn’t be big swings in gold supply or demand.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• colossal 
• considerable 
• enormous 
• fat 
• full 
• gigantic 
• hefty 
• huge 
• immense 
• massive 
• sizable 
• substantial 
• tremendous 
• vast 

When To Use

What is a basic definition of big?

Big describes something that is large in height, weight, size, or amount. Big can also describe something that is significant or, informally, something that is popular. Big has many other senses as an adjective and a few as an adverb and a noun.Big can describe things that are tall, wide, massive, or plentiful. It’s a synonym of words such as large, great, and huge, describing something as being notably high in number or scale in some way.

• Real-life examples: The Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground. Jupiter is a big planet. You would need a big box to hold 300 books. Skyscrapers are big buildings.



• Used in a sentence: The restaurant brought out a big table to seat all 30 of us.

Big also describes something that is very important, worrisome, alarming, influential, or similarly worthy of notice.

• Real-life examples: Jumping out of a plane without a parachute is a big mistake. A comet hitting Earth would be a big issue. The discovery of life on Mars would be big news.



• Used in a sentence: The mold in our house turned into a big problem when we found out it was toxic.

Big is used informally to mean that something is popular or widely known.

• Real-life examples: Disco was big in the 1970s. The internet started to become big in the 1990s when computers became affordable and connection speeds improved.



• Used in a sentence: The actor was big 10 years ago but now nobody knows who he is.