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  • big game
    big game
    noun
    large wild animals, especially when hunted for sport.
  • Big Game
    Big Game
    noun
    Usually the Big Game an alternate name for the Super Bowl, used in advertising by brands that are not official sponsors and therefore do not have permission to use the trademarked name of the NFL championship game.

big game

1 American  
[big geym] / ˈbɪg ˈgeɪm /

noun

  1. large wild animals, especially when hunted for sport.

    Expensive vacation packages to hunt big game like leopards or elephants in Africa are marketed almost exclusively to wealthy foreign tourists.

  2. large fish, as tuna and marlin, when sought by deep-sea anglers.

    Participants in the sport fishing tournament regularly return to shore with big game exceeding 200 pounds.

  3. a major objective, especially one that involves risk.

    The merger shows their commitment to the big game, in a market where half measures just won’t pay off.


Big Game 2 American  
[big geym] / ˈbɪg ˈgeɪm /

noun

Football.
  1. Usually the Big Game an alternate name for the Super Bowl, used in advertising by brands that are not official sponsors and therefore do not have permission to use the trademarked name of the NFL championship game.

    The best time to buy a new television is in late January, during sales promotions for the Big Game.


big game British  

noun

  1. large animals that are hunted or fished for sport

  2. informal the objective of an important or dangerous undertaking

"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 game

First recorded in 1860–65

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:

He has had big moments in his career, he is a big game player.

From BBC Jun. 15, 2026

That brings us back to Yamamoto, whose combination of consistency and excellence makes him the natural choice to start a big game — opening day, for instance, or an elimination game in the World Series.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 14, 2026

Don Robertson will have the whistle for the big game, aided by assistant referees Calum Spence and David Roome, while Kevin Clancy and assistant Matthew MacDermid will be at the VAR controls.

From BBC May 15, 2026

“Andy got hurt in the big game of reality.”

From Salon Apr. 29, 2026

“By the way, you guys going to the big game tonight?”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

It’s a portrait of a team assembled from spare parts and one generational talent that somehow made it all the way to the Big Game.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 25, 2026

Xfinity’s first-ever Big Game bid utilizes de-aging software to bring Jurassic Park stars Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill back to the ’90s.

From Slate Feb. 8, 2026

Many snack and beverage brands from PepsiCo are also confirmed advertisers at the Big Game.

From Barron's Feb. 6, 2026

He is part of Channel 5's Big Game Night NFL coverage and they are live on Super Bowl Sunday on 8 February from 22:30 GMT.

From BBC Feb. 5, 2026

You can find all these narrated at length in the fifth book, just preceding this, and bearing the title of “The Outdoor Chums After Big Game; Or, Perilous Adventures in the Wilderness.”

From The Outdoor Chums on a Houseboat by Allen, Quincy

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