- a variation of bigg.
big
1 Americanadjective
-
bigger,
comparative
-
biggest
superlative
-
large, as in size, height, width, or amount.
a big house; a big quantity.
- Antonyms:
- little
-
of major concern, importance, gravity, or the like.
a big problem.
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outstanding for a specified quality.
a big liar; a big success.
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important, as in influence, standing, or wealth.
a big man in his field.
- Synonyms:
- consequential
-
big enough to know better.
-
my big sister.
-
doing business or conducted on a large scale; major in size or importance.
big government.
-
consisting of the largest or most influential companies in an industry.
Big steel wants to lower prices, but the smaller mills don't.
-
Informal. known or used widely; popular.
Nouvelle cuisine became big in the 1970s.
-
magnanimous; generous; kindly.
big enough to forgive.
-
boastful; pompous; pretentious; haughty.
a big talker.
-
a big voice.
-
(of clothing or a clothing design) made of or distinguished by voluminous fabric that is loosely or softly shaped and fitted.
a big shirt; the big look.
-
(of a wine) having more than average flavor, body, and alcoholic content.
-
filled; brimming.
eyes big with tears.
-
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. pregnant.
-
Obsolete. very strong; powerful.
adverb
-
Informal. boastfully; pretentiously.
to act big; to talk big.
-
Informal. with great success; successfully.
to go over big.
noun
idioms
-
big with child. great.
-
be big on, to have a special liking or enthusiasm for.
Mother is big on family get-togethers.
verb (used with object)
adjective
-
of great or considerable size, height, weight, number, power, or capacity
-
having great significance; important
a big decision
-
important through having power, influence, wealth, authority, etc
the big four banks
-
(intensifier usually qualifying something undesirable)
a big dope
-
informal considerable in extent or intensity (esp in the phrase in a big way )
-
-
elder
my big brother
-
grown-up
when you're big, you can stay up later
-
-
-
generous; magnanimous
that's very big of you
-
( in combination )
big-hearted
-
-
(often foll by with) brimming; full
my heart is big with sadness
-
extravagant; boastful
he's full of big talk
-
(of wine) full-bodied, with a strong aroma and flavour
-
conceited; unduly self-confident
-
in an advanced stage of pregnancy (esp in the phrase big with child )
-
informal enthusiastic about
that company is big on research
adverb
-
boastfully; pretentiously (esp in the phrase talk big )
-
in an exceptional way; well
his talk went over big with the audience
-
on a grand scale (esp in the phrase think big )
verb
-
to build
-
to excavate (earth) into a pile
Usage
What is a basic definition of big? Big describes something that is large in height, weight, size, or amount. Big can also describe something that is significant or, informally, something that is popular. Big has many other senses as an adjective and a few as an adverb and a noun. Big can describe things that are tall, wide, massive, or plentiful. It’s a synonym of words such as large, great, and huge, describing something as being notably high in number or scale in some way.
- Real-life examples: The Grand Canyon is a big hole in the ground. Jupiter is a big planet. You would need a big box to hold 300 books. Skyscrapers are big buildings.
- Used in a sentence: The restaurant brought out a big table to seat all 30 of us.
- Real-life examples: Jumping out of a plane without a parachute is a big mistake. A comet hitting Earth would be a big issue. The discovery of life on Mars would be big news.
- Used in a sentence: The mold in our house turned into a big problem when we found out it was toxic.
- Real-life examples: Disco was big in the 1970s. The internet started to become big in the 1990s when computers became affordable and connection speeds improved.
- Used in a sentence: The actor was big 10 years ago but now nobody knows who he is.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of big1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English big(ge), beg(ge); of unknown origin
Origin of big2
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English biggen, beggen, buggen, originally, “to inhabit, reside,” from Old Norse byggja, byggva “to inhabit, settle,” cognate with Old English bū(i)an, German bauen “to build, erect”
Explanation
Something big is just plain large or important. A big class has a lot of kids. A big room is larger than average. A big newspaper story is one that makes the front page. Some people hate the idea of "big government" which means a federal government that plays a significant role in the day-to-day lives of its people. You might talk big at your reunion, but you really haven't traveled the world. (You went to Hoboken and Walla Walla!) Big can also pertain to age, as in "Will you be a big girl and get dressed all by yourself?"
Vocabulary lists containing big
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:
And I think that destination brings up a big issue about what Black women are and aren’t allowed to say or how they’re “allowed” to be comedic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
However, that doesn't mean hackers can easily take control of it, and big brands generally go to great lengths to make sure their tech is secure.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Stubborn inflation was still a big problem, however, and companies had trouble obtaining supplies and delivering goods to customers in a timely manner.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
The rout in technology stocks last week has big investors who plan to participate in Anthropic’s IPO coalescing around a lower valuation for the artificial-intelligence giant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
“Sometimes, I worry that it won’t happen. But it will. It might take a few more years than I thought, but still, no big deal. I got all the time in the world, right?”
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Its emergence surprised naval analysts because it was bigger and more sophisticated than amphibious vessels the Chinese navy had begun receiving just two years prior.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
The question is much bigger than a corporate battle over the semantics of artificial intelligence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
While this year's primary results did provide bigger surprises, Young says that nominating contests have historically been volatile, with voters more likely to make up their minds at the last minute.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Because underneath that investment is a much bigger bet: America will keep growing.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2026
Just then one little monkey, no bigger than a small cat, climbed up onto the rim of a mash barrel.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
“The biggest mistake people make is applying for Social Security too early,” Taylor said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
Courts and regulators worldwide have limited Apple’s ability to charge developers big fees to distribute apps through its App Store, the biggest component of the company’s services segment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Even your biggest hits have something of an enigmatic quality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Alcaraz is seen as the most naturally gifted player on the ATP Tour, having dominated the biggest tournaments alongside Jannik Sinner before their respective injuries this season.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
It’s the biggest rock ever, so long you can’t see where it ends.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
"We bigged him up before kick off for his technical abilities, and he has just shown them again here. This guy is an outstanding player."
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2023
“This agreement has been bigged up as something that will be a solution to the world’s food shortage, and it is just not,” said Tracey Allen, an agricultural commodities strategist at JPMorgan Chase.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
Brendan was never as good as people bigged him up to me.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2015
Across the world in Los Angeles, the Compton Cricket Club is bigged in by Cloth's Bullets – a song, like the CCC itself, dedicated to fighting homelessness and gang culture with civility and dignity.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 25, 2013
I've allus taen care that t' moors hae bin cropped fair; thou reckons thou'll feed mair yowes an' lambs on t' moors when thou's bigged thy walls; but thou weant, thou'll feed less.
From Tales of the Ridings by C. Vaughan
The coach of Ireland bigging up an Ireland wing?
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025
"Eddie's been bigging me up, so I had to show what I'm about," said Bristol's Ayton, a flawless 21-0 as an amateur.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2025
Another massive performance and others aside from Sinfield might be bigging him up.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023
GP I really don’t want it to sound like I’m bigging myself up.
From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2021
He has mair sense than to ca' anything about the bigging his ain, frae the rooftree down to a crackit trencher on the bink.
From The Antiquary — Volume 02 by Sir Walter Scott
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