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Big Apple

British  

noun

  1. informal New York City

"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

Etymology

Origin of Big Apple

C20: probably from US jazzmen's earlier use to mean any big, esp northern, city; of obscure origin

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.

See Examples For:

Her ties to the Big Apple have continued into adulthood.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Or for salaried workers struggling to put food on the family table in the Big Apple?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Extreme weather in the days before the final including ferocious storms, plus flooding and smoke from Canadian forest fires distracted many in the Big Apple.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

Kelce, who is based in Kansas for his American football career, was introduced to the Big Apple when he started dating Swift in 2023.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

The protest in New York was on at the moment, but let me tell you, it didn’t look like a love train chugging through the Big Apple.

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

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