Word.ws English Dictionary

big

/bɪɡ/

big adjective: of great size, large.

Adjective

big (comparative bigger, superlative biggest)

  1. Of great size, large.
    • 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.1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter III, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC
    1. (informal) Fat.
      • Gosh, she is big!
  2. (figuratively, sometimes) Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
    • 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.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 1
  3. (informal) Specifically, big-breasted.
  4. (informal) Having a large penis.
    • I'm the shortest man on the team but in the gym shower everyone can see that I'm also the biggest.
  5. (informal) Having large muscles, especially visible ones such as the chest and arm muscles.
    • I've been lifting weights for a full year now, but I'm finally getting big.
  6. (informal) Adult; (of a child) older.
    • 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.
    Antonyms:
    little, young
    1. (informal, rare, slang) Old, mature. Used to imply that someone is too old for something, or acting immaturely.
      • I don't think so, if you're shouting at people across the playground at your big age.2020, Candice Carty-Williams, Notting Hill Carnival
  7. (informal) Mature, conscientious, principled; generous.
    • 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.
  8. (informal) Important or significant.
    • 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."1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC
  9. Popular.
    • 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 Japan1984, “Big in Japan”, in Forever Young, performed by Alphaville
  10. Populous.
  11. (informal) Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns
    • 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.1918, Michael Williams, The Book of the High Romance: A Spiritual Autobiography, page 41
  12. (capitalized, humorous, often, sometimes, or institution(s) therein) Operating on a large scale, especially if therefore having undue or sinister influence.
    • big money
    • Big Tech, Big Steel
  13. (informal) Enthusiastic (about).
    • 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.2019 July 2, Louise Taylor, “Alex Morgan heads USA past England into Women’s World Cup final”, in The Guardian
    • I'm not big on the idea, but if you want to go ahead with it, I won't stop you.
    Synonyms:
    fanatical, mad, worked up, animated, ardent, avid, big [⇒ thesaurus] [on], bubbly, eager, earnest

Adverb

big (comparative bigger, superlative biggest)

  1. In a loud manner.
  2. In a boasting manner.
    • He's always talking big, but he never delivers.
  3. In a large amount or to a large extent.
    • He won big betting on the croquet championship.
    • Don't miss our November sale — it's your last chance to save big before Christmas!
    1. (informal) (modifying a preposition)
      • I've always been big into sport, but I'm especially big into football.
  4. On a large scale, expansively.
    • 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.1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 25
  5. (colloquial) Hard; with great force.
    • He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.

Noun (1)

big (plural bigs)

  1. Someone or something that is large in stature.
    • 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.2019, Derrick Rose, Sam Smith, I'll Show You
  2. An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
    Synonyms:
    big shot
  3. (in plural) The big leagues, big time.
    • 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.2004 June 23, Michelle Boorstein, “Ballclub’s Pullout Caps Va. Town’s Run of Woes; Struggling Martinsville No Longer Celebrates Its Boys of Summer”, in Washington Post
    Synonyms:
    big leagues
  4. (university slang) An initiated member of a sorority or fraternity who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
    • 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.2018, Kelly Ann Gonzales, Through an Opaque Window
    • 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.2019 April 1, Audrey Steinkamp, “Sororities pair new members with "bigs"”, in Yale Daily News, archived from the original on 20 Feb 2026
  5. The participant in age roleplay who acts out the older role.
    Antonyms:
    little

Verb

big (third-person singular simple present bigs, present participle bigging, simple past and past participle bigged)

  1. (Northern England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, transitive) To inhabit; occupy.
  2. (Northern England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, reflexive) To locate oneself.
  3. (Northern England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, transitive) To build; erect; fashion.
    • Don't big it up.
  4. (Northern England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, intransitive) To dwell; have a dwelling.

Noun (2)

big (uncountable)

  1. (Northern England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal) One or more kinds of barley, especially six-rowed barley.
    • The poor lass was sitting bemoaning herself - "Were it nae for thy girning face, I would knock the big, winnow the corn, and grun the meal," - "Lowse the cradle-band," said the child, "and tent the neighbours, and I'll work yere work." Up he started - the wind arose - the corn was chopped - the...1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume II, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 167

Noun (3) capitalized: BIG

BIG (plural BIGs)

  1. A biological insulation garment; an air-tight, full-body suit intended to prevent the spread of contaminants.
    Synonyms:
    BIG suit

Phrase capitalized: BIG

BIG

  1. (abbreviation) Abbreviation of business is a game.

big meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

big in Hindi

adult
वयस्क vayask
of a great size — see also large
बड़ा baṛā, विशाल viśāl, विराट virāṭ

big in Tamil

of a great size — see also large
பெரு peru, பெரிய periya

big in Marathi

of a great size — see also large
विशाल viśāl

big in Urdu

of a great size — see also large
بڑا baṛā
More languagesFewer languages
big in Bengali
বড় boṛ
big in Telugu
పెద్ద pedda
big in Malayalam
വലിയ valiya
big in Kannada
ದೊಡ್ಡ doḍḍa
big in Punjabi
بَڑا, ਬੜਾ baṛā, وَڈّا, ਵੱਡਾ vaḍḍā
big in Gujarati
મોટું moṭũ
big in Odia
ବଡ baḍa
big in Sanskrit
बृहत् bṛhat, मह maha, महत् mahat
big in Sinhala
ලොකු loku, විශාල wiśāla
big in Assamese
ডাঙৰ daṅor, বৰ bor
big in Nepali
ठूलो ṭhūlo
big in Pashto
غټ ǧaṭ, ستر stër
big in Tagalog
malaki
big in Arabic
كَبِير kabīr, كبير kibīr
big in Malay
orang dewasa, dewasa, besar, raya
big in Indonesian
besar, agung, raya
big in Persian
بزرگسال bozorgsâl, بُزُرْگ buzurg, کَلَان kalān, مِهْ mih
big in Thai
โต dtoo, ใหญ่ yài
big in Vietnamese
lớn, to, bự
big in Myanmar
ကြီး kri:, ကြီးမား kri:ma:
Sindhi
وَڏو vaḏo

Examples of big in a sentence

  • She did it all on her own like a big girl.
  • 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]
  • Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again.2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, archived from the original on 12 Nov 2020, page 68:
  • The largest was the state’s biggest city, Salt Lake City.2025 March 28, “Utah becomes the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water”, in CNN, sourced from Associated Press:
  • By midnight, however, the last light had fled / For even big people have then gone to bed[.]1931, Robert L. May, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Montgomery Ward (publisher), draft

All 40 example sentences with big

Synonyms of big

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of big

Forms of big

Adjective
comparativebigger
superlativebiggest
Adverb
comparativebigger
superlativebiggest
Noun
pluralbigs
alternative formbigg
alternative formbygg
alternative formbygge
pluralBIGs
Verb
third-person singular presentbigs
present participlebigging
past participlebigged
pastbigged

Plural of big: bigs

Origin of big

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.

From Middle English biggen, byggen, from Old Norse byggja, byggva (“to build, dwell in, inhabit”), a secondary form of Old Norse búa (“to dwell”), related to Old English būan (“to dwell”). Cognate with Danish bygge, Swedish bygga.

From Middle English byge, from Old Norse bygg (“barley, probably Hordeum vulgare, common barley”), from Proto-Germanic *bewwuz (“crop, barley”). Cognate with Old English bēow (“barley”).

Words formed from big

Phrases with big

163 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with big

25 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about big

What does big mean?
Big means of great size, large.
What is big in Hindi?
Big in Hindi is वयस्क (vayask), बड़ा (baṛā), विशाल (viśāl). See Big meaning in Hindi.
How do you use big in a sentence?
She did it all on her own like a big girl.
What part of speech is big?
Big can be an adjective, an adverb, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce big?
Big is pronounced /bɪɡ/.

Words near big in the dictionary

  1. bifurcator
  2. bifurcators
  3. bifurcose
  4. bifurcous
  5. bifusiform
  6. big
  7. Big 4
  8. big agile
  9. big air
  10. Big Ambergris Cay
  11. big and bad

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: big (page history and authors); BIG (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-big.ogg, en-us-big.ogg.

Cite this entry: “big.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/big. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.