big rig

noun

plural big rigs
US
: a large truck with an attached trailer that is used for hauling freight : semitrailer sense 2
A father and grandfather, Brubaker worked behind the wheel of a big rig for over a decade before transferring to a supervisory role.Deirdre Reilly
He formerly drove a big rig for a freight company.Jim Kleinpeter

Examples of big rig in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Authorities say Singh was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after plowing his big rig into slow-moving traffic on the I-10 Freeway in San Bernardino County. Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025 The California Highway Patrol is searching for the driver of a big rig that fatally struck a Washington state man who was reportedly running in traffic on a Yolo County stretch of Interstate 5. Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 22 Oct. 2025 Video recorded from inside the cabin of the big rig shows the Chrysler Town & Country minivan crumpling underneath the 18-wheeler’s trailer as Singh turned across the two-lane stretch of the highway from the right lane, blocking both lanes of the Turnpike. Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 26 Aug. 2025 An image of the aftermath of the truck crash at Florida's Turnpike on August 12, 2025, in which a truck driver who allegedly cannot speak English and is in the U.S. illegally performed a U-turn in a big rig and killed three people. Shane Croucher, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for big rig

Word History

First Known Use

1946, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of big rig was in 1946

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Big rig.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20rig. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

big rig

noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!