consisting of or forming a large mass; bulky and heavy.
massive columns.
large and heavy-looking.
a massive forehead.
large in scale, amount, or degree.
a massive breakdown in communications;
massive reductions in spending.
solid or substantial; great or imposing.
massive erudition.
Mineralogy. having no outward crystal form, although sometimes crystalline in internal structure.
(of objects) large in mass; bulky, heavy, and usually solid
impressive or imposing in quality, degree, or scope
massive grief
relatively intensive or large; considerable
a massive dose
pathol affecting a large area of the body
a massive cancer
geology
(of igneous rocks) having no stratification, cleavage, etc; homogeneous
(of sedimentary rocks) arranged in thick poorly defined strata
mineralogy without obvious crystalline structure
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English ( see mass, -ive); replacing Middle English massif, from Middle French
Massive means enormous. Obviously, Mt. Everest is massive, but a massive budget cut isn't necessarily big in physical mass; it's something that is imposing in scale or power. A massive budget cut can do a lot of damage. Unless someone is referring to your intellect, massive is not a word you want used in a description of your attributes. Massive is a nice one to trot out when huge, gigantic, and enormous sound too over-the-top. Politicians use it often. Massive could also be the best way to describe the wave you surfed on your Hawaiian vacation or the size of the fish you nearly caught on that trip with your friends.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Herd of bison holds back a massive fire in Madrid.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
U.S. tech bosses realized last year that China’s artificial-intelligence players weren’t experiencing the same scramble to find power for data centers thanks to the country’s massive rollout of renewable-energy infrastructure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Yet these shares still are up threefold and fivefold respectively over the last year, leading many to conclude that some caution and profit taking after such massive gains was inevitable – and indeed healthy.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Douthat is the first full-time correspondent named to the venerable CBS News magazine program since it underwent a massive shake-up last spring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Afterward the children played happily with their old friend, tugging on her fur and pulling her by the ears while she gently nipped and rolled them around between her massive paws.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Massive new outboard motors are unleashing unprecedented horsepower for high-end boats.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Massive data centers are also flooding the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s main grid operator, with requests for power.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2026
Massive donations are starting to materialize, including a $6.25 billion pledge from Michael and Susan Dell.
From MarketWatch ● May 28, 2026
Massive demand for the silicon components used in AI data centres -- especially memory chips, which are in short supply -- has sent revenues soaring for firms that design, produce and assemble them.
From Barron's ● May 28, 2026
Massive irrigation projects, built with public money to improve private land, brought water from hundreds of miles away.
From "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser
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.
