massive

adjective

mas·​sive ˈma-siv 

1

: forming or consisting of a large mass:

a

: bulky

massive furniture

b

: weighty, heavy

massive walls

a massive volume

c

: impressively large or ponderous

stars more massive than the sun

d

: having no regular form but not necessarily lacking crystalline structure

massive sandstone

2

a

: large, solid, or heavy in structure

massive jaw

b

: large in scope or degree

the feeling of frustration, of being ineffectual, is massive

—David Halberstam

c(1)

: large in comparison to what is typical

a massive dose of penicillin

(2)

: being extensive and severe

massive hemorrhage

(3)

: imposing in excellence or grandeur

massive simplicity

the most massive American dramatist of his time

—Newsweek

3

: having mass (see mass entry 2 sense 1c)

a massive boson

massively adverb

massiveness noun

Synonyms

• heavy
• hefty

Examples of massive in a Sentence

The fort had massive walls.

stars more massive than the sun

A massive effort will be required to clean up the debris.

You can find a massive amount of information on the Internet.

The stunt received massive publicity.

a massive collection of baseball cards

Recent Examples on the Web

The Jays capitalized on the Dodgers’ weak middle relief after chasing starter Blake Snell in the sixth inning to bust open a massive lead. —Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025

How to Watch Boise State vs Nevada Boise State enters as a massive favorite, having only lost two games this year, while winning five. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Oct. 2025

One of those walls, a massive glass awning-style window, lifts skyward to erase the boundary between indoors and out, revealing a sprawling terrace that feels suspended above the city. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Oct. 2025

RelishMix reports that the social media reach on Chainsaw Man is massive at a half billion, 6x above anime genre norms across TikTok, Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram combined with gigantic video views counts on YouTube of 351 million and counting. —Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 24 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English massiffe, from Anglo-French mascif, alteration of massiz, from Vulgar Latin *massicius, from Latin massa mass

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for massive

• passive
• impassive

Kids Definition

massive

adjective

mas·​sive ˈmas-iv 

1

: weighty sense 1, heavy

massive walls

2

a

: large, solid, or heavy in structure

a massive jaw

b

: large in extent or degree

a massive effort

3

: having mass

massively adverb

massiveness noun

Medical Definition

massive

adjective

mas·​sive ˈmas-iv 

1

: large in comparison to what is typical

—used especially of medical dosage or of an infectious agent

a massive dose of penicillin

2

: being extensive and severe

—used of a pathologic condition

a massive hemorrhage

a massive collapse of a lung