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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 gaym] / 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 gaym] / 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:

An NBA player swears it brought him good luck after devouring it the night before a big game.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

Receiver Paul Turner had big game as Patriots beat Burbank.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

People still eating meat typically either hunt big game or trap smaller birds and mammals.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026

Secretary Scott Bessent has talked a big game about bringing down yields, but so far his efforts haven’t been big enough.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The same way he does when we study for tests or before a big game.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

Artlist made headlines in February when it produced a Super Bowl LX spot in under five days using its own products, at a fraction of the multi-million-dollar cost typical of Big Game advertising.

From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026

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

Relax and enjoy the Big Game without worrying about what it means for your portfolio.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026

For many years he was on the editorial committee of the Boone and Crockett Club, and edited its publications, "American Big Game Hunting," "Hunting in Many Lands," and "Trail and Camp Fire."

From American Big Game in Its Haunts by Various

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