big1

[big] /bɪg/
adjective, bigger, biggest.
1.
large, as in size, height, width, or amount:
a big house; a big quantity.
2.
of major concern, importance, gravity, or the like:
a big problem.
3.
outstanding for a specified quality:
a big liar; a big success.
4.
important, as in influence, standing, or wealth:
a big man in his field.
5.
grown-up; mature:
big enough to know better.
6.
elder:
my big sister.
7.
doing business or conducted on a large scale; major in size or importance:
big government.
8.
consisting of the largest or most influential companies in an industry:
Big steel wants to lower prices, but the smaller mills don't.
9.
Informal. known or used widely; popular:
Nouvelle cuisine became big in the 1970s.
10.
magnanimous; generous; kindly:
big enough to forgive.
11.
boastful; pompous; pretentious; haughty:
a big talker.
12.
loud; orotund:
a big voice.
13.
(of clothing or a clothing design) made of or distinguished by voluminous fabric that is loosely or softly shaped and fitted:
a big shirt; the big look.
14.
(of a wine) having more than average flavor, body, and alcoholic content.
15.
filled; brimming:
eyes big with tears.
16.
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. pregnant.
17.
Obsolete. very strong; powerful.
adverb
18.
Informal. boastfully; pretentiously:
to act big; to talk big.
19.
Informal. with great success; successfully:
to go over big.
noun
20.
the bigs, Sports Slang. the highest level of professional competition, as the major leagues in baseball.
Idioms
21.
be big on, to have a special liking or enthusiasm for:
Mother is big on family get-togethers.
22.
big with child. great (def 23).
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English big(ge) < ?
Related forms
biggish, adjective
bigly, adverb
Synonyms
1. huge, immense; bulky, massive; capacious, voluminous; extensive. See great. 4. consequential. 15. overflowing, flooded.
Antonyms
1. little.

big2

[big] /bɪg/
verb (used with object), bigged, bigging. British Dialect
1.
to build.
Also, bigg.
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English biggen orig., to inhabit < Old Norse byggja to inhabit, cognate with Old English bū(i)an, German bauen

big3

[big] /bɪg/
noun, Scot. and North England
1.
bigg1 .
Examples from the web for big
  • There was always a big pot of it in the refrigerator, and a generous spoonful was a favorite after-school snack.
  • Calling in the big guns.
  • Relative to our ape brethren, humans give birth to really big babies.
  • But big scientific discoveries are by nature counterintuitive and sometimes shocking.
  • The spacious wooden cabins have big windows for star gazing.
  • The big names I've met in my tiny research field have been lovely.
  • Understanding the natural history of sauropods has been crucial to figuring out how they got so big.
  • After a while it occurred to me that what this was really all about was show-and-tell for big people.
  • But because an animal wags its tail and eats, nobody thinks there's anything wrong-not even to get into these big exotic animals.
  • They take on a completely empty look that challenges the image of the big muscular superhero body.
British Dictionary definitions for big

big1

/bɪɡ/
adjective bigger, biggest
1.
of great or considerable size, height, weight, number, power, or capacity
2.
having great significance; important: a big decision
3.
important through having power, influence, wealth, authority, etc: the big four banks
4.
(intensifier usually qualifying something undesirable): a big dope
5.
(informal) considerable in extent or intensity (esp in the phrase in a big way)
6.
  1. elder: my big brother
  2. grown-up: when you're big, you can stay up later
7.
  1. generous; magnanimous: that's very big of you
  2. (in combination): big-hearted
8.
(often foll by with) brimming; full: my heart is big with sadness
9.
extravagant; boastful: he's full of big talk
10.
(of wine) full-bodied, with a strong aroma and flavour
11.
too big for one's boots, too big for one's breeches, conceited; unduly self-confident
12.
in an advanced stage of pregnancy (esp in the phrase big with child)
13.
(informal) big on, enthusiastic about: that company is big on research
adverb (informal)
14.
boastfully; pretentiously (esp in the phrase talk big)
15.
in an exceptional way; well: his talk went over big with the audience
16.
on a grand scale (esp in the phrase think big)
See also big up
Derived Forms
biggish, adjective
bigness, noun
Word Origin
C13: perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Norwegian dialect bugge big man

big2

/bɪɡ/
verb (Scot) bigs, bigging, bigged, bug (bʌɡ)
1.
to build
2.
to excavate (earth) into a pile
Word Origin
from Old Norse byggja; related to Old English būian to inhabit
Word Origin and History for big
adj.

c.1300, northern England dialect, "powerful, strong," of obscure origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Norwegian dialectal bugge "great man"). Old English used micel in many of the same senses. Meaning "of great size" is late 14c.; that of "grown up" is attested from 1550s. Sense of "important" is from 1570s. Meaning "generous" is U.S. colloquial by 1913.

Big band as a musical style is from 1926. Slang big head "conceit" is first recorded 1850. Big business "large commercial firms collectively" is 1905; big house "penitentiary" is U.S. underworld slang first attested 1915 (in London, "a workhouse," 1851). In financial journalism, big ticket items so called from 1956. Big lie is from Hitler's grosse Lüge.

Slang definitions & phrases for big

big

adjective
  1. Important; powerful: the big names in this business/ the big guy (late 1500s+)
  2. Popular; successful: If I do say so, we were very big/ The book's big in Chicago (1910+)
adverb

Successfully; outstandingly well: The wing-dancing and funny acts catch on big (1886+)

Related Terms

big with someone, go over big, make it big, take it hard, talk big


Big

adjective

Good; decent; admirable •Used as an epithet for an admired person: Hey, what's up, Big Charlie?

Related Terms

mister big


Idioms and Phrases with big

big

also see:
also see under:
bigger