magnum
Americannoun
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a large wine bottle having a capacity of two ordinary bottles or 1.5 liters (1.6 quarts).
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a magnum cartridge or firearm.
adjective
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(of a cartridge) equipped with a larger charge than other cartridges of the same size.
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(of a firearm) using such a cartridge.
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Informal. unusually great in power or size.
a magnum spotlight; a magnum dosage.
noun
Etymology
Origin of magnum
1780–90; < Latin, neuter of magnus large; in reference to firearms, originally used as a trademark by the Smith and Wesson Co.
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.
A magnum is not just twice the size of a regular bottle of wine: It is also, as a friend put it recently, “a supersized expression of joy.”
The dictionary is Garner’s magnum opus, as essential to attorneys as Gray’s Anatomy is to physicians.
From Los Angeles Times
When Anni Albers published her theoretical magnum opus “On Weaving” in 1965, she was already lamenting the loss of our tactile sensibilities, which have undeniably worsened in the digital era.
From Los Angeles Times
In 1966, Wilson led The Beach Boys in the production of "Pet Sounds," the magnum opus that elevated the group’s stature for all time.
From Salon
It’s a magnum opus from the culinary icon behind Kogi, “L.A. Son,” and “The Chef Show” — a book built on balance and compassion.
From Salon
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.
