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• Big Dipper
  Big Dipper

  noun

  the group of seven bright stars in Ursa Major resembling a dipper in outline.
• big dipper
  big dipper

  noun

  (in amusement parks) a narrow railway with open carriages that run swiftly over a route of sharp curves and steep inclines

Big Dipper

American  

noun

Astronomy.

1. the group of seven bright stars in Ursa Major resembling a dipper in outline.

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big dipper ¹ British  

noun

1. Also called: roller coaster.  (in amusement parks) a narrow railway with open carriages that run swiftly over a route of sharp curves and steep inclines

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Big Dipper ² British  

noun

1. the US and Canadian name for Plough

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Big Dipper Scientific  

1. An asterism composed of seven stars in the constellation Ursa Major. Four stars form the bowl and three form the handle in the outline of a dipper.

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Big Dipper Cultural  

1. A constellation in the northern sky. The two stars on the far end of the bowl of the dipper point toward the North Star. The Big Dipper is part of the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear).

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Etymology

Origin of Big Dipper

First recorded in 1865–70

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How does big-dipper compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Big Dipper vs. Little Dipper

Example Sentences

Melting permafrost is buckling roads into potentially deadly big dipper rollercoasters, as well as threatening to dislodge doses of locked-up mercury.

From The Guardian • Apr. 21, 2018

Start at dusk in June to see big dipper fireflies and the pink mountains.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2018

Now it’s like being on a big dipper with no safety belt, for about five years.

From The Guardian • Nov. 12, 2016

The lights may not bother the dusk-loving big dipper so much, but they do interfere with other species that mate at night and need the darkness to communicate successfully.

From Washington Post • Jul. 5, 2016

He would drink out of your big dipper in spite of me!

From Skyrider by Fischer, Anton Otto