big mama

noun

(often initial capital letters)

1. a man's sweetheart, girlfriend, or wife.

2. a woman regarded as the head of a family.

3. the female founder or a leading female member of a company, organization, movement, etc.

4. Chiefly Southern U.S.,  grandmother.

Word History and Origins

Origin of big mama¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

As a child, Lulu modelled herself on James Brown and Big Mama Thornton – gritty R&B singers who lent their grit and growl to Lulu's version of Shout.

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It was the stand-in for a Midwestern town in Tom Hanks’ “That Thing You Do” and for a southern burg in “Big Mama’s House,” among many others.

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At 52, she was Tony-nominated for playing Big Mama in the 2003 Broadway revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.”

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Big Mama Thornton, Etta James and Albert Collins were just a few of the blues greats who frequently played at the Belly Up during the disco era.

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"She was Big Mama; I didn't really understand the world. I would explain what my problem was and Big Mama would deal with it for me."

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