big idea
Americannoun
-
any plan or proposal that is grandiose, impractical, and usually unsolicited.
You're always coming around here with your big ideas.
-
purpose; intention; aim.
What's the big idea of shouting at me?
Etymology
Origin of big idea
An Americanism dating back to 1920–25
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.
This follows the failure of last week’s big idea, which was to pay down some of the borrowings with…er…borrowed money.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
“The big idea here is to give the president and the secretary the most flexibility, and the force the most options to present to them,” Votel said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Presumably whenever a stockpicker—whether investor or analyst—chooses the next big idea, that choice isn’t made cavalierly.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
But then, the agency people unveiled their big idea: to create a campaign centered around reanimated digital avatars of our dead loved ones.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026
I don’t think about Safer, and I don’t think about Dallas, or the taste test, or my big idea that may or may not work.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
