Big Bertha
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of Big Bertha
C20: approximate translation of German dicke Bertha : fat Bertha; named after Bertha Krupp, at whose works in Essen a very effective 42 cm mortar was made
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.
It became synonymous with German military power, producing the Big Bertha gun during World War I, and later building tanks and U-boat components for the Nazis.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 20, 2025
They’re constructed from recycled stainless steel in sizes with catchy names: Big Bertha at 40 ounces, Grace at 27 ounces and the Firecracker at 18 ounces.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 9, 2021
The most popular driver in golf nearly a quarter century ago, and maybe the most popular driver of any time, was the Callaway Great Big Bertha from 1995.
From Golf Digest • Jan. 2, 2020
He points out Big Bertha, one of the largest of all snowdrops with broad, gray-green leaves, apple-green inner petals and a green blotch at the tip of the outer petals.
From Washington Post • Feb. 4, 2019
‘I’ll need you and Piper to run interference. I’ll reprogram the snake, then Big Bertha.’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
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.
