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
John Werner, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
In the era of big data, data collection has become the de-facto norm, but the equally important task of interpreting data is largely overlooked.
—Columbia Business School - The Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Still, Gu says, the researchers would like to see their new discs used in big data centers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 23 Feb. 2024
Through artificial intelligence, notably machine learning, marketers and salespeople can access insights gleaned from big data that have impacted the buying process.
—Anthony Kennedy, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024
Chancellor's research includes the use of big data sets from Reddit to understand how people talk about severe mental illness and related behaviors, like suicidal thoughts and self-injury.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 4 Sep. 2023
This combination equips you with a unique skill set highly valued in the era of digital finance and big data.
—Bryce Welker, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024
Meanwhile, advances in artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and cloud computing will help process all that information and flag what humans should review.
—David Zikusoka, Foreign Affairs, 2 Feb. 2024
With the rise of big data, pretty much almost any human discipline now can be mathematized to some extent.
—Quanta Magazine, 1 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'big data.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near big data
Cite this Entry
“Big data.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20data. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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