big
Part of speech: adj
adv
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: Inherited from Northern Middle English big, bigge (“powerful, strong”), possibly from a dialect of Old Norse. Ultimately perhaps a derivative of Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”), in which case big would be related to bogey, bugbear, and bug.
Compare dialectal Norwegian bugge (“great man”), Low German Bögge, Boggelmann.
Inflected forms:
form: bigger
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: biggest
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: bigger
pos: adv
tags: comparative
form: biggest
pos: adv
tags: superlative
form: bigs
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Of great size, large.
pos: adj
examples: Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot.
The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line,[…], with their court of farm and church and clustered village, in dignified seclusion.
Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return. […] When a company’s share price rises faster than the rest of the market, this means that it has a bigger weight in a traditional index.
Out of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data in 2024, only 66 fluoridated their water, an Associated Press analysis showed. The largest was the state’s biggest city, Salt Lake City.
gloss: Of great size, large.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: Gosh, she is big!
gloss: Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
pos: adj
tags: figuratively
sometimes
examples: She was big with child.
The Dawn is over-caſt, the Morning low’rs,
And heavily in Clouds brings on the Day,
The great, th’ important Day; big with the Fate
Of Cato and of Rome.
gloss: Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.
pos: adj
tags: informal
gloss: Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: I'm the shortest man on the team but in the gym shower everyone can see that I'm also the biggest.
gloss: Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: I've been lifting weights for a full year now, but I'm finally getting big.
gloss: Adult; (of a child) older.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: Kids should get help from big people if they want to use the kitchen.
We were just playing, and then some big kids came and chased us away.
She did it all on her own like a big girl.
By midnight, however, the last light had fled / For even big people have then gone to bed[.]
Uh oh ... that looks like one of those things the big people don't want us to touch, Marvin!
gloss: Adult; (of a child) older.
pos: adj
tags: informal
rare
slang
examples: I don't think so, if you're shouting at people across the playground at your big age.
gloss: Mature, conscientious, principled; generous.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: That's very big of you; thank you!
I tried to be the bigger person and just let it go, but I couldn't help myself.
So the bloke says, 'Fine, that's real big of you, much appreciated,' and off he goes with Big John back to Ferrari's.
gloss: Important or significant.
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: What's so big about that? I do it all the time.
"I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. I never did that. I always made up my mind I'd be a big man some day, and—I'm glad I didn't steal."
The great game of golf offered an antidote to the inevitable dead space — blocks of difficult-to-use hours, pre- and postflight — that are one of business travel’s biggest drags.
It proved a big miss as Hoilett produced a sublime finish into the top corner of the net from 20 yards after evading a couple of challenges in first-half stoppage time.
"It's not about having a catchy strap line, it's about 'why do I come to work every day?' Am I just here to go 'your train is over there'? Or am I here to really influence that person's journey and therefore the perception of the organisation we're working for? There is a bigger picture to this - and that ultimately is what will keep people using our service."
gloss: Popular.
pos: adj
examples: That style is very big right now in Europe, especially among teenagers.
Big in Japan, alright, pay then I'll sleep by your side / Things are easy when you're big in Japan
gloss: Populous.
pos: adj
gloss: Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: You are a big liar.  Why are you in such a big hurry?
The little suggestions of look and tone; the easy fibs and bigger lies; the tricks of persuasion, the onleading wiles — all these I could not master.
Why is it whenever I'm in a big hurry he's always in a big slow?
gloss: Operating on a large scale, especially if therefore having undue or sinister influence.
pos: adj
tags: capitalized
humorous
often
sometimes
examples: big money
Big Tech, Big Steel
Big Science
There were concerns about the ethics of big pharma.
Why are you so enthusiastic about putting cantaloupe in your smoothie? Did Big Melon buy you off? [humorous]
After the Airblade’s launch, a battle began to boil, pitting the dryer industry against the world’s most powerful hand-drying lobby: Big Towel.
“The C.E.O.s don’t want to be testifying. Even having this collective hearing creates a sense of quasi-guilt just because of who else has gotten called in like this — Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, Big Banks,” said Paul Gallant, a tech policy analyst at the investment firm Cowen. “That’s not a crowd they want to be associated with.”
gloss: Enthusiastic (about).
pos: adj
tags: informal
examples: Neville is big on standing by his principles and he deserves plaudits for acknowledging he got his starting system wrong, reverting to 4-2-3-1 and introducing Kirby in the No 10 role.
I'm not big on the idea, but if you want to go ahead with it, I won't stop you.
gloss: In a loud manner.
pos: adv
gloss: In a boasting manner.
pos: adv
examples: He's always talking big, but he never delivers.
gloss: In a large amount or to a large extent.
pos: adv
examples: He won big betting on the croquet championship.
Don't miss our November sale — it's your last chance to save big before Christmas!
According to the Digital Marketing Institute, influencer marketing campaigns are paying off big for brands, generating roughly $5.78 for every dollar spent.
gloss: In a large amount or to a large extent.
pos: adv
tags: informal
examples: I've always been big into sport, but I'm especially big into football.
gloss: On a large scale, expansively.
pos: adv
examples: You've got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing.
'You've got to put it over big,' he was saying in a loud nasal voice.
gloss: Hard; with great force.
pos: adv
tags: colloquial
examples: He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.
gloss: Someone or something that is large in stature.
pos: noun
examples: You could throw out everything else, but I had the speed to split double-teams. Like, go at double-teams numerous times in a possession, on consecutive possessions where I'm testing your endurance, your bigs.
gloss: An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
pos: noun
gloss: The big leagues, big time.
pos: noun
tags: in-plural
examples: In the Appalachian League, where Cal Ripken once played in Bluefield, W.Va., a ballplayer's chances of making it to the bigs are less than one in six.
gloss: An initiated member of a sorority or fraternity who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
pos: noun
examples: He was there the night of Cristoph's party. All the littles were assigned to their bigs. Ian and Christoph had rushed the same fraternity. When they became upperclassmen, they both ended up on the board.
She added that the relationship between bigs and littles is "what each pair makes of it," and that a lot of the pairs often get dinner together and become close friends.
Some traditions of the chapter include lineages with bigs and littles, receiving of paddles from a big, and a national stroll, Wolsch-Gallia said.
gloss: The participant in age roleplay who acts out the older role.
pos: noun
Derived words: archipelago big-eyed treefrog
as big as life
bastard big-footed mouse
be big on
beep
be the bigger man
big agile
big air
big and bad
big and tall
big and ugly enough
Big Apple
big as a barn
big as a house
big as bull-beef
big ask
big-ass
bigass
big ass
Big Ass Lake
big as the Beatles
bigature
big baby
big back
big bad
big band
Big Bang
big bang
big bang testing
big bat
big bath
Big Bear City
Big Bear Lake
Big Bear Valley
big beast
big beat
Big Ben
Big Bertha
big bikkies
big blind
big block
big blue blanket
big blue room
big bluestem
Big Board
big-body
big-boned
big boned
big-boob
big boob
big-box
big box
big-box store
big boy
big boys
big-boy pants
big boy pants
big brain
big-brained
big break
big-breasted
big brother
Big Brother
big brown bat
big bucks
big business
big C
big car
big casino
big cassino
big cat
big-character poster
big cheese
big chop
Big Creek
Big Crunch
big crunch
big crypto
big D
Big D
big daddy
big dance
big data
big day
big deal
big deuce
big Dick
big dick energy
big-dick energy
big Dick from Boston
big dipper
Big Dipper
big divorce energy
big dog
big dog of the tanyard
big drink
big drum
big dyke energy
Big E
big-eared
Big Easy
big eater
big eight
big enchilada
big end
big-endian
big end of town
big enough and ugly enough
bigeye
big eye
big-eyed
big-eyed tree frog
big fat
big-fat
big phat
big fat zero
big figure
bigfin
big final
big finger
big fish
big fish eat little fish
big fish in a little pond
big fish in a small pond
big-fish-little-pond effect
big five
big fly
Bigfoot
big-footed mouse
Big Four
big friend
big game
Big Game
bigger fish in the sea
bigger fish to fry
bigger picture
bigger than Ben Hur
bigger than life
bigger-than-life
bigger than shit
biggie
no biggie
biggify
big girl
big-girl pants
big girl pants
big girl's blouse
biggish
biggity
big government
big gun
big guy
biggy
big hair
big hairy armadillo
big hairy deal
big hand
big H
Big H
bighead
big head
big-head
big-headed
big-headedness
big-headed rice rat
big-headed turtle
big heart
big-hearted
big-heartedly
big-heartedness
big history
big hitter
big honkin'
bighorn
Big Horn County
big house
bighouse
big idea
big if
big if true
bigify
big iron
Big Island
Big Jacks Creek
big jobs
big kahuna
big kid
big labor
big labour
Big Lake
Big Lakes County
BigLaw
bigleaf
big-leaf maple
big-league
big letter
big lick
big lie
big light
big-lipped alligator moment
big lug
Big Mac
big mad
big mama
big man
big man on campus
big man ting
Big Mike
big mind
big mitt man
big mo
big momma
big-money
big money
big mood
big mouth
bigmouth
big-mouthed
bigmouthed
Big Muddy
big name
big-name
bigness
bignose
big-note
big-noter
big O
big oil
big ol'
big old
big ole
big ones
big one
the big one
big O notation
bigorexia
big pharma
big picture
big pocket
big pregnant
Big Q
Big Quill
Big Rapids
big real mode
big red button
big red switch
big rhododendron
Big Ridge
big rig
big ring
Big Rip
Big River
big room
big room house
bigroot
big sagebrush
bigscale
big school
big science
big screen
big shagbank
Big Shanty
big shop
big shot
bigshot
big-shot
big shoulder
big-shouldered
big show
Big Sioux
big sister
big-sisterly
Big Six
big six
the big six
big-sized
big-sky thinking
big sleep
big slick
Big Smoke
big smoke
big society
bigsome
big spender
big spoon
Big Spring
big spring
Big Springs
big stick
Big Stone County
Big Sur
big switch
bigtail
big talk
big tamale
big tech
big-tent
big tent
big tentism
big-tentism
big things come in small packages
big three
Big Three
big-ticket
big ticket
big-ticket item
Big Timber
big time
big-time
bigtime
big-timer
big tobacco
big toe
big toenail
bigtooth
big top
big-top
big tree
big two
Big Uglies
big ugly dish
big up
big wall
big wheel
big white chief
big white telephone
big whoop
big wig
big-wig
bigwig
big-wigged
big woop
big word
big wow
big year
big yikes
bite the big one
buy the big one
catch big air
deepwater big-eyed worm eel
embiggen
get big or get out
give it the big one
go big or go home
grandbig
great big
greater big-footed mouse
green big-eyed tree frog
have eyes bigger than one's belly
have eyes bigger than one's stomach
heart as big as Phar Lap
hit it big
hit the big time
in a big way
last big thing
last of the big spenders
like a big dog
little pitchers have big ears
make a big thing out of
make it big
Mr. Big
Mr Big
Mister Big
next big thing
no big deal
no big whoop
no big woop
one big happy family
open one's big mouth
overbig
Petter's big-footed mouse
play big
speak softly and carry a big stick
suck a big one
talk a big game
talk big
talk softly and carry a big stick
talk to God on the big white telephone
talk to Ralph on the big white telephone
the bigs
there's always a bigger fish
think big
too big for one's boots
too big for one's britches
too big for one's breeches
too big to fail
too big to jail
unbig
walk softly and carry a big stick
what's the big idea
win big
Translations:
lang: Arabic
word: كَبِير
roman: kabīr
lang: Armenian
word: մեծ
roman: mec
lang: Assamese
word: ডাঙৰ
roman: daṅor
lang: Azerbaijani
word: böyük
lang: Azerbaijani
word: yekə
lang: Bulgarian
word: въ́зрастен
roman: vǎ́zrasten
lang: Bulgarian
word: пора́снал
roman: porásnal
lang: Bulgarian
word: голя́м
roman: goljám
lang: Catalan
word: gran
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 大人
roman: daai⁶ jan⁴
lang: Hakka Chinese
word: 大人
roman: thai-ngìn
lang: Chinese
word: 大人
roman: zh-min-nan
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 大人
roman: dàrén
lang: Dutch
word: volwassen
lang: Ewe
word: gã
lang: Finnish
word: aikuinen
lang: Finnish
word: iso
lang: French
word: grand
lang: German
word: groß
lang: Hebrew
word: גדול
roman: gadol
lang: Hindi
word: वयस्क
roman: vayask
lang: Hungarian
word: felnőtt
lang: Icelandic
word: fullorðinn
lang: Inuktitut
word: innark
lang: Inuktitut
word: aktok
lang: Italian
word: grande
lang: Japanese
word: 大人
roman: otona
lang: Japanese
word: 成人
roman: seijin
lang: Kapampangan
word: tua
lang: Kapampangan
word: tanda
lang: Kapampangan
word: dinagul
lang: Korean
word: 어른
roman: eoreun
lang: Korean
word: 성인
roman: seong'in
lang: Central Kurdish
word: گەورە
roman: gewre
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: mezin
lang: Latin
word: adultus
lang: Macedonian
word: го́лем
roman: gólem
lang: Macedonian
word: во́зрасен
roman: vózrasen
lang: Malay
word: orang dewasa
lang: Malay
word: dewasa
lang: Norman
word: grand
lang: Ojibwe
word: gichi-aya'aa
lang: Pashto
word: غټ
roman: ǧaṭ
lang: Pashto
word: ستر
roman: stër
lang: Persian
word: بزرگسال
roman: bozorgsâl
lang: Polish
word: duży
lang: Portuguese
word: maior
lang: Portuguese
word: adulto
lang: Russian
word: большо́й
roman: bolʹšój
lang: Slovak
word: dospelý
lang: Slovak
word: veľký
lang: Spanish
word: mayor
lang: Spanish
word: adulto
lang: Swahili
word: pevu
lang: Swahili
word: kubwa
lang: Swedish
word: vuxen
lang: Tagalog
word: malaki
lang: Thai
word: โต
roman: dtoo
lang: Ukrainian
word: вели́кий
roman: velýkyj