big data
noun
Did you know?
Big data is a new addition to our language, but exactly how new is not an easy matter to determine. A 1980 paper by Charles Tilly provides an early documented use of big data, but Tilly wasn't using the word in the exact same way we use it today; rather, he used the phrase "big-data people" to refer to historians engaged in data-rich fields such as cliometrics. Today, big data can refer to large data sets or to systems and solutions developed to manage such large accumulations of data, as well as for the branch of computing devoted to this development. Francis X. Diebold, a University of Pennsylvania economist, who has written a paper exploring the origin of big data as a term, a phenomenon, and a field of study, believes the term "probably originated in lunch-table conversations at Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) in the mid 1990s…."
Examples of big data in a Sentence
MSNBC Newsweek, 11 July 2025
There are many ways that marketers can use advanced analytics and AI agents to turn messy and disorganized marketing big data into valuable go-to-market knowledge that supports marketing actions and actions.
—Stephen Diorio, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
Another North Carolina business is part of a big data breach.
—Catherine Muccigrosso, Charlotte Observer, 1 July 2025
Off the pitch, Garcia is studying a five-year double degree in business administration and direction and business analytics, with a specialism in big data.
—Mario Cortegana, New York Times, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for big data
Cite this Entry
“Big data.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20data. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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