Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

big picture

American  

noun

  • big pictures
    plural
  1. a broad, overall view or perspective of an issue or problem.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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:

A few tenths of a percentage point won’t alter the big picture.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 19, 2026

I couldn't have been happier for him for what he achieved and when he came back to the training ground, we took a big picture with him.

From BBC Jul. 3, 2026

The big picture also includes ongoing declining enrollment — funding ultimately is linked to enrollment.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 17, 2026

This activity itself isn’t new: People frequently work out the big picture of romantic compatibility by listing pros and cons, and the discovery of such a list is a recurring trope in sitcoms and rom-coms.

From Salon Jun. 10, 2026

They believed, further, that public financial markets lacked investors with an interest in the big picture.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training