big data

American  

noun

(used with a singular or plural verb)

1. Computers. data sets, typically consisting of billions or trillions of records, that are so vast and complex that they require new and powerful computational resources to process.

   Supercomputers can analyze big data to create models of global climate change.

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big data British  

plural noun

1. computing data held in such large amounts that it can be difficult to process

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Etymology

Origin of big data

First recorded in 1975–80, for an earlier sense

Example Sentences

Those big data centers being built for artificial intelligence firms are in bad odor nationwide.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

“If you are banking on never getting caught in the past for not filing, you’re banking on an old system,” Whatley said, noting the rise of big data and artificial intelligence at the IRS.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 6, 2026

Newly formed regional chapters and working groups are scaling up exposomics research by combining A.I., advanced sensor technology, metabolomics, and big data analytics.

From Science Daily • Feb. 14, 2026

There’s a big data center going up near the energy-rich Permian Basin in West Texas, where CoreWeave is working with an Nvidia-backed start-up called Poolside that plans to build a sprawling data center complex there.

From Barron's • Oct. 16, 2025

AI and big data also help reveal patterns that humans might never spot.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025