Synonyms Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for large on Thesaurus.com adjective, larg·er, larg·est. 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. on a great scale: a large producer of kitchen equipment. of great scope or range; extensive; broad. grand or pompous: a man given to large, bombastic talk. (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. famous; successful; important: He's very large in financial circles. Obsolete generous; bountiful; lavish. Obsolete unrestrained in the use of language; gross; improper. unrestrained in behavior or manner; uninhibited. Nautical free(def 33) .Show More
Music the longest note in mensural notation. Obsolete generosity; bounty. Show More
Nautical with the wind free or abaft the beam so that all sails draw fully. Show More
at large , free from restraint or confinement; at liberty: The murderer is still at large. to a considerable extent; at length: to treat a subject at large. as a whole; in general: the country at large. Also at-large . representing the whole of a state, district, or body rather than one division or part of it: a delegate at large. 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. in large , on a large scale; from a broad point of view: a problem seen in large. Also in the large . Show More
Origin of large 1125–75; Middle English < Old French < Latin larga, feminine of largus ample, generous
Related forms large·ness , noun o·ver·large , adjective ul·tra·large , adjective un·large , adjective Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for largest Contemporary Examples of largest Houston has the largest medical center in the world, and the largest export port in the entire country.
However, in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections they were the largest bloc of voters.
“The four largest banks are nearly 40 percent bigger today than they were just five years ago,” she observed.
It was as if it would interfere with the largest particular work of her life, which happened to be me.
In 2010 Cuba provided the largest contingent of medical staff during the aftermath of the huge earthquake that shook Haiti.
Historical Examples of largest "Look at that dog-fish," said Vavasor, pointing to the largest in the tank.
The wood and cloth will be the two largest items, and these should not cost more than $10.
One of the largest of the Zeppelins was thus lost at Stuttgart in 1908.
But one day there came to the mountainside the largest giant Wotan had ever seen.
This was her first voyage, and she was said to be the largest ship out of Rotterdam.
British Dictionary definitions for largest having a relatively great size, quantity, extent, etc; big of wide or broad scope, capacity, or range; comprehensive a large effect having or showing great breadth of understanding a large heart nautical (of the wind) blowing from a favourable direction rare overblown; pretentious generous obsolete (of manners and speech) gross; rude Show More
at large (esp of a dangerous criminal or wild animal) free; not confined roaming freely, as in a foreign country as a whole; in general in full detail; exhaustively ambassador-at-large See ambassador (def. 4) in large or in the large as a totality or on a broad scale Show More
nautical with the wind blowing from a favourable direction by and large (sentence modifier) generally; as a rule by and large, the man is the breadwinner nautical towards and away from the wind loom large to be very prominent or important Show More
Derived Forms largeness , noun Word Origin for large 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 largest adj. superlative of large (q.v.).
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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 largest 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.
