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large

[lahrj]
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adjective, larg·er, larg·est.
  1. of more than average size, quantity, degree, etc.; exceeding that which is common to a kind or class; big; great: a large house; a large number; in large measure; to a large extent.
  2. on a great scale: a large producer of kitchen equipment.
  3. of great scope or range; extensive; broad.
  4. grand or pompous: a man given to large, bombastic talk.
  5. (of a map, model, etc.) representing the features of the original with features of its own that are relatively large so that great detail may be shown.
  6. famous; successful; important: He's very large in financial circles.
  7. Obsolete. generous; bountiful; lavish.
  8. Obsolete.
    1. unrestrained in the use of language; gross; improper.
    2. unrestrained in behavior or manner; uninhibited.
  9. Nautical. free(def 33).
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noun
  1. Music. the longest note in mensural notation.
  2. Obsolete. generosity; bounty.
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adverb
  1. Nautical. with the wind free or abaft the beam so that all sails draw fully.
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Idioms
  1. at large,
    1. free from restraint or confinement; at liberty: The murderer is still at large.
    2. to a considerable extent; at length: to treat a subject at large.
    3. as a whole; in general: the country at large.
    4. Also at-large.representing the whole of a state, district, or body rather than one division or part of it: a delegate at large.
    5. Also at-large.having a general, as opposed to a specific, role in an organization or project: She’s the magazine’s editor-at-large.
  2. in large, on a large scale; from a broad point of view: a problem seen in large.Also in the large.
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Origin of large

1125–75; Middle English < Old French < Latin larga, feminine of largus ample, generous
Related formslarge·ness, nouno·ver·large, adjectiveul·tra·large, adjectiveun·large, adjective
Can be confusedlarge largess

Synonyms

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1. huge, enormous, immense, gigantic, colossal; massive; vast. See great.

Antonyms

1. small.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

breath, proportion, extent, measure

Examples from the Web for largeness

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Largeness, freedom, human sympathy, are revealed upon every page.

  • It wouldn't have occurred to me that it was any indication of largeness.

    The Dominant Strain

    Anna Chapin Ray

  • This was not the largeness we were facing now, but smallness.

    Beyond the Vanishing Point

    Raymond King Cummings

  • Canada is just beginning to realise the largeness of her mineral resources.

  • It was only the largeness of the sum which made him hesitate.

    The Man Who Knew

    Edgar Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for largeness

large

adjective
  1. having a relatively great size, quantity, extent, etc; big
  2. of wide or broad scope, capacity, or range; comprehensivea large effect
  3. having or showing great breadth of understandinga large heart
  4. nautical (of the wind) blowing from a favourable direction
  5. rare overblown; pretentious
  6. generous
  7. obsolete (of manners and speech) gross; rude
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noun
  1. at large
    1. (esp of a dangerous criminal or wild animal) free; not confined
    2. roaming freely, as in a foreign country
    3. as a whole; in general
    4. in full detail; exhaustively
    5. ambassador-at-large See ambassador (def. 4)
  2. in large or in the large as a totality or on a broad scale
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adverb
  1. nautical with the wind blowing from a favourable direction
  2. by and large
    1. (sentence modifier)generally; as a ruleby and large, the man is the breadwinner
    2. nauticaltowards and away from the wind
  3. loom large to be very prominent or important
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Derived Formslargeness, noun

Word Origin

C12 (originally: generous): via Old French from Latin largus ample, abundant
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for largeness

n.

c.1300, from large + -ness.

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large

adj.

c.1200, "bountiful, inclined to give or spend freely," also, of areas, "great in expanse," from Old French large "broad, wide; generous, bounteous," from Latin largus "abundant, copious, plentiful; bountiful, liberal in giving," of unknown origin. Main modern meanings "extensive; big in overall size" emerged 14c. An older sense of "liberated, free from restraining influence" is preserved in at large (late 14c.). Adjective phrase larger-than-life first attested 1937 (bigger than life is from 1640s).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with largeness

large

see at large; big (large) as life; by and large; cog in the (a large) wheel; in some (large) measure; loom large; writ large.

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.