big

1 of 3

adjective

ˈbig 

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

My mother is a big baker, and so was my grandmother …

—Melissa Parks

I'm not a big shopper, so for me to actually like a store is really saying something.

—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

5

: popular

soft drinks are very big in Mexico

—Russ Leadabrand

6

a

: of great force

a big storm

b

obsolete : of great strength

Sir Launcelot was big and strong again.

—Thomas Malory

7

a

: pregnant

especially : nearly ready to give birth

big with child

b

: full to bursting : swelling

big with rage

c

of the voice : full and resonant

8

: full-bodied and flavorful

—used of wine

bigly adverb

bigness noun

big

2 of 3

adverb

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

big

3 of 3

noun

1

: an individual or organization of outstanding importance or power

especially : major league

—usually used in plural

playing in the bigs

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

Phrases

big on

: strongly favoring or liking

also : noted for

she is big on blushing

—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

Adjective

Now comes perhaps his biggest challenge yet: Taking over a San Jose Earthquakes team that finished last in the entire league and gave up the most goals (78) in MLS history. —Harold Gutmann, The Mercury News, 13 Nov. 2024

The price of ice While diamond dust shows promise, cost is the biggest barrier to implementation. —Devika Rao, theweek, 12 Nov. 2024

Adverb

Placekicker Coe bounces back big: Senior placekicker Ryan Coe lost his starting job three weeks ago after missing seven field goals through six games, including kicks that could have won games at Florida State and Pitt. —Jeff Faraudo, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024

Brown came up big in the fourth quarter of the 25-17 win at No. 24 Illinois last week. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 8 Nov. 2024

Noun

To further quantity the significance of this, OKC’s only other true big who has played rotational minutes at the NBA level is Jaylin Williams, who is also currently injured and missed the entire preseason. —Nick Crain, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2024

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

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Adverb, and Noun

Middle English, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect bugge important man

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 6b

Adverb

1568, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing big

• a big fish in a little pond
• a big fish in a small pond
• a big heart
• a big/swelled head
• (as) big as life
• be in for a (big/real) surprise
• big band
• big bang
• big bang theory
• big beat
• big-block
• big bluestem
• big-boned
• big-box
• big boy
• big brother
• big brown bat
• big buck
• big-budget
• big business
• big C
• big cat
• big cheese
• big-city
• big commitment
• big crunch
• big daddy
• big data
• big deal
• big fat
• big game
• big government
• big gun
• big hair
• big house
• big league
• big lie
• big man on campus
• big money
• big name
• big noise
• big one
• big picture
• big rig
• big science
• big screen
• big shot
• big sister
• big spender
• big stick
• big-ticket
• big time
• big toe
• big top
• big tree
• big unknown
• big wheel
• big whoop
• big with child
• big word
• big words
• draw a big/large crowd
• go over big
• great big
• half as big/much/good as
• have a big heart
• have a big mouth
• hit it big
• hit the big five-oh
• hit the big four-oh
• hitting the big time
• in a big way
• made a big difference
• make a big deal (out) of (something)
• make a big difference
• make a big thing about/out of (something)
• make (something) into a big deal
• no big whoop
• that's a big if
• the big bang
• the big boys
• the big cheese
• the big city
• the big day
• the big enchilada
• the big guns
• the big house
• the big leagues
• the big one
• the big question
• the big screen
• the big time
• the next big thing
• think big
• too big for one's boots
• too big for one's britches
• under the big top
• what's the big deal?
• what's the big idea

Kids Definition

big

1 of 2 adjective

ˈbig 

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 adverb

1

: in a big way

win big

2

: so as to boast

talk big