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
• ponderous
• weighty

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

Concerns are that everyone in AI is pretty much part of a massive one-way-fits-all mindset, blindly pursuing the same kinds of algorithms and approaches. —Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025

Yet even as the party showcases a solidly deep bench of experience 2028 contenders, there is a nagging narrative, mostly in media circles, that Democrats should mimic the GOP by eloping with a non-traditional candidate with a massive entertainment or social media footprint. —Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 4 May 2025

So far, the Warner Bros. video game adaptation has generated a massive $398 million in North America. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 4 May 2025

While the team of researchers hailed the success of the telescope, the road to its construction was marked by years of protests against the placement of yet another massive device on what many native Hawaiians view as sacred land. —Alana Wise, NPR, 3 May 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