bigger; biggest
1
a
: large or great in dimensions, bulk, or extent
a big house
also
: large or great in quantity, number, or amount
a big fleet
b
: operating on a large scale
big government
c
of a letter
: capital sense 1
2
a
: filled with or characterized by enthusiasm and interest
I'm a big fan of soy foods but urge you to choose them wisely.—
Andrew Weil
: active and enthusiastic
Andrew WeilMy mother is a big baker, and so was my grandmother …—Melissa Parks
Melissa ParksI'm not a big shopper, so for me to actually like a store is really saying something.—Matt Cameron
Matt Cameron
b
: expressed in an enthusiastic or unrestrained way : hearty
greeted me with a big hug
3
a
: chief, preeminent
the big issue of the campaign
b
: of great importance or significance
the big moment
c
: magnanimous, generous
was big about it
d
: outstandingly worthy or able
a truly big man
e
: imposing, pretentious
using big words
also
: marked by or given to boasting
big talk
4
informal
: more advanced in age : older
my big brother
: more mature
His teachers all told me he was excited about riding the bus, feeling like a big boy now.—Laurie Frey
Laurie Frey5
: popular
soft drinks are very big in Mexico—Russ Leadabrand
Russ Leadabrand6
a
: of great force
a big storm
b
obsolete
: of great strength
Sir Launcelot was big and strong again.—Thomas Malory
Thomas Malory7
8
: full-bodied and flavorful
—used of wine
bigly
adverb
bigness
noun
1
a
: to a large amount or extent
won big
b
: on a large scale
think big
2
: in a loud or declamatory manner
also
: in a boasting manner
talk big
3
: hard
hits her forehand big
1
: an individual or organization of outstanding importance or power
2
basketball, informal
: a big player : a center or forward whose large size and strength are used to control play near the basket
But, the problem is that you MUST have guards. You can't play five bigs.—Martin Manley
Martin Manley
Phrases
big on
: strongly favoring or liking
also
: noted for
she is big on blushing —Arnold Hano
Arnold Hano Synonyms
Adjective
- consequential
- earth-shattering
- earthshaking
- eventful
- historic
- important
- major
- material
- meaningful
- momentous
- monumental
- much
- significant
- substantial
- tectonic
- weighty
Noun
- big boy
- big cheese
- big gun
- big leaguer
- big shot
- big wheel
- big-timer
- bigfoot
- biggie
- bigwig
- fat cat
- heavy
- heavy hitter
- heavyweight
- high-muck-a-muck
- high-muckety-muck
- honcho
- kahuna
- kingfish
- kingpin
- major leaguer
- muckety-muck
- muck-a-muck
- mucky-muck
- nabob
- nawab
- nibs
- nob [chiefly British]
- pooh-bah
- poo-bah
- wheel
Examples of big in a Sentence
Adjective
a big glass of soda
She moved to a bigger city.
the biggest city in the state
He led a big group through the museum.
She works for a big company.
He organized a big advertising campaign.
We had a big fund-raiser for the school.
Adverb
He talks big about his plans, but he hasn't done much yet.
Noun
with that new promotion he's now one of the bigs in the company
the big story that year was the election of the president
Recent Examples on the Web
Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 2 Nov. 2024
In previous years, these were the biggest challenges our boxwoods faced.
—Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 2 Nov. 2024
Ben Morse, CNN, 29 Sep. 2024
Fellow chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom also rallied big on Thursday, gaining 5.7% and 3.9%, respectively.
—Ari Levy, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2024
Nick Crain, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
There would be no reason to suspect Courtney Williams had evolved into a stone-cold killer who will never back down from a big shot with the game in the balance, nor that Alanna Smith is a tenacious defender capable of locking down bigs who trump her in size.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 12 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for big 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Adjective
The menu plays a big role in that, with options to get a wild boar chorizo slider or one with roasted buffalo tongue.
—Amanda Hancock, The Courier-Journal, 2 Nov. 2024
In previous years, these were the biggest challenges our boxwoods faced.
—Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 2 Nov. 2024
Adverb
And the Steelers defense has come up big too, allowing the second-fewest rushing yards as well as conceding zero rushing touchdowns.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 29 Sep. 2024
Fellow chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom also rallied big on Thursday, gaining 5.7% and 3.9%, respectively.
—Ari Levy, CNBC, 19 Sep. 2024
Noun
Dieng has the height at 6-foot-11 but lacks the strength and physicality to compete with more traditional bigs.
—Nick Crain, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2024
There would be no reason to suspect Courtney Williams had evolved into a stone-cold killer who will never back down from a big shot with the game in the balance, nor that Alanna Smith is a tenacious defender capable of locking down bigs who trump her in size.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 12 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for big
Dictionary Entries Near big
Cite this Entry
“Big.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
big
1 of 2 adjective
bigger; biggest
1
: of great force
a big storm
2
a
: large in size, bulk, or extent
a big house
big government
a big city
b
: large in number or amount
a big fleet
big money
c
: capital entry 1 sense 2
big letters
3
: of great importance
my big chance
a big star in movies
4
informal
: being older
my big sister
bigness
noun
big
2 of 2 adverb1
: in a big way
win big
2
: so as to boast
talk big
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