big-boned
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of big-boned
First recorded in 1600–10
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.
At just over a foot tall, the “Maiden of Vulci” is an outlier in “Myth and Marble,” which is otherwise filled with big-boned, room-filling sculptures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
These big-boned people pursued a semi-nomadic life on the steppes, tamed animals, kept domestic cattle and moved over large areas using horses and carts.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2024
The bassist Omer Avital makes big-boned, ebullient, swinging music with a spine that’s equal parts 1950s Blue Note records and timeless Middle Eastern modes.
From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2018
Cassie, who also had “a Georgia Jagger gap between her front teeth,” was adventurous, self-assured and bold, whereas Julia was the more responsible of the two, and “as big-boned as Cassie was small.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2017
As I walked into the airport lobby after clearing customs, a big-boned, clean-shaven young man took note of my two huge duffels and approached.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
