Dictionary.com

big deal

[ big-deel ]
/ ˈbÉȘg ˈdil /
Informal.
Save This Word!

noun
an important or impressive person or thing: to make a big deal out of nothing;I hear he's a big deal on Wall Street now.
(used ironically as an interjection to indicate that one considers something to be unimportant or unimpressive): So you're the mayor's cousin—big deal!
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Idioms about big deal

    (it’s) no big deal. See entry at no big deal

Origin of big deal

First recorded in 1945–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use big deal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for big deal

big deal

interjection
slang an exclamation of scorn, derision, etc, used esp to belittle a claim or offer
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with big deal

big deal

1

A matter of great interest or importance, as in Performing in Symphony Hall is a big deal for everyone in the chorus. [c. 1940] Also see under make a federal case out of.

2

So what? Who cares? For example, So you got the job after all—well, big deal! This use of the phrase as an ironic interjection dates from approximately the same time.

The American HeritageŸ Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
FEEDBACK