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big bang

noun

: the cosmic explosion that marked the beginning of the universe according to the big bang theory
In 1965 Arno A. Penzias and Robert W. Wilson of the Bell Telephone Laboratories discovered that the space of the universe is bathed with a diffuse radiation that is assumed to persist following the "big bang" expansion of the universe from an original fireball.V. L. Ginzburg
The first stars and galaxies formed something like 300 million years after the big bang.Joel Achenbach
compare big crunch, big rip

Examples of big bang in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Marc Ganley The shift from gaming to AI started around 2012, when Nvidia’s GPUs were used by researchers to build AlexNet, what many consider to be modern AI’s big bang moment. Katie Tarasov, CNBC, 21 Nov. 2025 Adding to his administration’s volte-face, Biden was on the verge of a big bang in the U.S.-Saudi relationship when Hamas derailed the effort with its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Dana L. Stroul, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Nov. 2025 Richard Linklater‘s Nouvelle Vague time-travels to the moment right before modern cinema’s big bang, when the French New Wave crested and Godard’s Breathless would change everything. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 31 Oct. 2025 What was conceived as a plan to Marvel-ize the franchise did not translate into a big bang. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for big bang

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of big bang was in 1949

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Cite this Entry

“Big bang.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20bang. Accessed 29 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

big bang

noun
: the explosion that caused the beginning of the universe according to the big bang theory
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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