big

1 of 3

adjective

bigger; biggest
1
a
: large or great in dimensions, bulk, or extent
a big house
also : large or great in quantity, number, or amount
a big fleet
b
: operating on a large scale
big government
c
of a letter : capital sense 1
2
a
: filled with or characterized by enthusiasm and interest
I'm a big fan of soy foods but urge you to choose them wisely.Andrew Weil
: active and enthusiastic
My mother is a big baker, and so was my grandmother …Melissa Parks
I'm not a big shopper, so for me to actually like a store is really saying something.Matt Cameron
b
: expressed in an enthusiastic or unrestrained way : hearty
greeted me with a big hug
3
a
: chief, preeminent
the big issue of the campaign
b
: of great importance or significance
the big moment
c
: magnanimous, generous
was big about it
d
: outstandingly worthy or able
a truly big man
e
: imposing, pretentious
using big words
also : marked by or given to boasting
big talk
4
informal : more advanced in age : older
my big brother
: more mature
His teachers all told me he was excited about riding the bus, feeling like a big boy now.Laurie Frey
5
: popular
soft drinks are very big in MexicoRuss Leadabrand
6
a
: of great force
a big storm
b
obsolete : of great strength
Sir Launcelot was big and strong again.Thomas Malory
7
a
: pregnant
especially : nearly ready to give birth
big with child
b
: full to bursting : swelling
big with rage
c
of the voice : full and resonant
8
: full-bodied and flavorful
used of wine
bigly adverb
bigness noun

big

2 of 3

adverb

1
a
: to a large amount or extent
won big
b
: on a large scale
think big
2
: in a loud or declamatory manner
also : in a boasting manner
talk big
3
: hard
hits her forehand big

big

3 of 3

noun

1
: an individual or organization of outstanding importance or power
especially : major league
usually used in plural
playing in the bigs
2
basketball, informal : a big player : a center or forward whose large size and strength are used to control play near the basket
But, the problem is that you MUST have guards. You can't play five bigs.Martin Manley
Phrases
big on
: strongly favoring or liking
also : noted for
she is big on blushing Arnold Hano

Examples of big in a Sentence

Adjective a big glass of soda She moved to a bigger city. the biggest city in the state He led a big group through the museum. She works for a big company. He organized a big advertising campaign. We had a big fund-raiser for the school. Adverb He talks big about his plans, but he hasn't done much yet. Noun with that new promotion he's now one of the bigs in the company the big story that year was the election of the president
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
While the pay freeze helped San Diego balance its budget despite lower per-capita revenues than most other cities, the freeze also created big problems. David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024 The spinoff is said to have a significantly bigger budget, with ambitions to reach an audience beyond the Philippines. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Mar. 2024 But while getting Williams’ production back is big, the return of Williams’ leadership is just as valuable, if not more so, in Davis’ eyes. Kortay Vincent, Kansas City Star, 8 Mar. 2024 Here are my top questions going into the big night. The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2024 The company also plans to expand in Southern California and enter the Las Vegas market for the first time and anticipates a bigger presence in the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest. The Arizona Republic, 8 Mar. 2024 On March 1, state regulators gave Waymo, the self-driving taxi company owned by Google’s parent, Alphabet, the green light to expand its robotaxi service to Los Angeles County, clearing the way for the company’s expansion into one of the biggest markets in the country. Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 8 Mar. 2024 Anywhere from the biggest of the big, like, Post Malone down to people who are just starting to come up in the smaller California scene. Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2024 The series remains one of AMC's biggest flagship shows alongside Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and ran for 11 seasons, concluding on Nov. 20, 2022. Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024
Adverb
Timberlake, one of the seven KU seniors honored pregame, hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second half to put Kansas up big over rival Kansas State. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 6 Mar. 2024 These adjustments to the current profession can pay off big in the long-term, increasing your expertise and improving your skill set in your field. Ryan Derousseau, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 The sophomore guard has consistently come up big down the stretch. Jason Williams, The Enquirer, 31 Jan. 2024 Coach Andy Reid remains at the helm and star tight end Travis Kelce has come up big in the playoffs for Kansas City once again, breaking the NFL record for postseason catches in the process. Ayrton Ostly, USA TODAY, 8 Feb. 2024 Purdy found Kittle on a gutsy fourth-down play, and then Jennings came up big again. Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 12 Feb. 2024 What might be most impressive is his ability to come up big in big moments. Christopher Kuhagen, Journal Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2024 Earlier this year, Club Chalamet broke big over photos of Chalamet and Kylie Jenner at the Renaissance tour. Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 4 Dec. 2023 The result is even more remarkable, given the fact that Gregor Kobel had to come up big in the first minutes of the game to stop a penalty by Olivier Giroud. Manuel Veth, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023
Noun
In that situation, the weakside wing is charged with dropping and blocking out the big. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2024 Bucks head coach Doc Rivers, who took over the job when Milwaukee’s brass decided to fire Adrian Griffin with a 30-13 record, has been around a few talented and dominant bigs throughout his NBA career. Shane Young, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 This will be billed as a battle of the sophomore bigs with OSU’s Raegan Beers (18.2 points, 11.1 rebounds) taking on UCLA’s Lauren Betts (15.0 points, 8.6 rebounds), but guards will likely be the game-changers in this matchup. USA TODAY, 16 Feb. 2024 Still, the Pacers got plenty of production from their own bigs, and that kept them within striking distance. Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 14 Jan. 2024 Then three starters got hurt, including both bigs, and a key rotation piece flew to the Dominican Republic for a funeral. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Feb. 2024 State's starting bigs of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins combined for six points on 1-for-11 shooting with eight rebounds, a boards total matched by the 5-foot-6 Amoore as well as 6-5 freshman center Clara Strack. Aaron Beard, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024 He was named the District 7-5A Newcomer of the Year as a freshman. Woodcock, a senior big, stands at 6-foot-10 and averages 9.3 points and 10.7 rebounds per game. Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2024 Instead of sending the double team from the opposite big, which for Utah State meant coming diagonally across the lane, the Wolf Pack doubled straight from the wing who entered the ball while the remaining on the three defenders rotated on the perimeter. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'big.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Adverb, and Noun

Middle English, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialect bugge important man

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 6b

Adverb

1568, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of big was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near big

Cite this Entry

“Big.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

big

1 of 2 adjective
bigger; biggest
1
: of great force
a big storm
2
a
: large in size, bulk, or extent
a big house
big government
a big city
b
: large in number or amount
a big fleet
big money
c
: capital entry 1 sense 2
big letters
3
: of great importance
my big chance
a big star in movies
4
: being older
my big sister
bigness noun

big

2 of 2 adverb
1
: in a big way
win big
2
: so as to boast
talk big

More from Merriam-Webster on big

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