big time
Americannoun
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big times
plural
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Informal. the highest or most important level in any profession or occupation.
She's a talented violinist, but she's not ready for the big time.
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Slang. a very good time.
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Theater. (in vaudeville) any highly successful circuit of theaters that produces two performances daily.
noun
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An enjoyable or exciting time, as in The children came home exhausted but happy; they really had a big time at the circus . [Mid-1800s]
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The highest or most important level in any enterprise, as in I knew that when I made it through the last audition, I was finally in the big time . [ Colloquial ; c. 1900] Also see big league .
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of big time
An Americanism dating back to 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.
LSU is far from the first school to explore signing actual pros—either ones who didn’t make the big time, or arriving from other leagues in other countries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
And I always call my mom when I’m driving because she lives in Scotland and I have to take into account the big time difference.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
The lottery-ticket analogy suggests that you’re letting your imagination run away with you — big time.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
He has won and won big time, taking more votes than all his rivals combined.
From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2026
Everyone was laughing and having a big time.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions 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.
