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.
In 1962, Macdonald published his magnum opus of cultural criticism, “Against the American Grain: Essays on the Effects of Mass Culture,” containing the most famous of his essays, “Masscult & Midcult.”
From Salon • Apr. 19, 2026
After inspecting a gifted magnum of Chinese wine, he stressed that the country "knew how to produce" -- another worry for French producers.
From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026
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.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
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 • Sep. 15, 2025
An arch has the school’s motto painted on it: Nil magnum nisi bonum.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
