jumbo
Americannoun
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a very large person, animal, or thing.
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U.S. Nautical.
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a forestaysail having a boom jumbo boom along its foot, used especially on schooners.
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a sail used in place of a course on a square-rigged ship, having the form of an isosceles triangle set apex downward.
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a narrow triangular sail set point downward in place of a foresail on a topsail schooner.
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adjective
noun
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informal
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a very large person or thing
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( as modifier )
a jumbo box of detergent
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See jumbo jet
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jumbo
First recorded in 1800–10; origin uncertain; popularized as the name of a large elephant purchased and exhibited by P.T. Barnum in 1882
Explanation
Something that's jumbo is extra large. Your jumbo television might look funny in your tiny apartment. Jumbo is an informal adjective that describes anything enormous. You might spy the word on a menu at a seafood restaurant that serves "jumbo shrimp," or hear it when you're boarding a massive "jumbo jet." The word comes from a famous elephant, Jumbo, known for being the largest in captivity in the 1800s, and purchased from the London Zoo by circus owner P.T. Barnum in 1882.
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:
The luxury jumbo jet was modified to transport the president and included upgrades in security, mission communications, logistics support, and advanced technology, the Air Force said.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The cost of a jumbo loan might be expected to be higher because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don’t guarantee them, and they pose a higher risk to lenders.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
The Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which democratized air travel in the 1970s, was only possible thanks to powerful jet engines developed in the 1960s for the massive C-5 military transport plane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
Brownback also likes the nonagency MBS market, which includes the jumbo home loans too large for Fannie and Freddie to package into securities.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
He held a black jumbo that sagged at the bottom, containing something heavy, something powerful.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
Rakesh Reddy told AFP that seven jumbos were killed, and one elephant sustained an injury.
From Barron's ● Dec. 20, 2025
It will hold 25% more volume than Boeing’s existing freighter and is emerging as an heir to the plane-maker’s humpbacked 747 jumbos that have hauled goods across the North Pacific for decades.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 13, 2021
The airline also expects to bring five of its A380 super jumbos back into service by the middle of next year to meet high demand for flights to Los Angeles and London.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2021
Lewinsky told her official biographer that Tripp had the jumbos because she wanted to appear loyal to the administration.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2018
All my cousins would gather in the courtyard between my house and Geoffrey’s house to kick the soccer ball—made from plastic shopping bags we called jumbos, which we then bound in twine.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
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.
