big

1 having great meaning or lasting effect there will be a big meeting to resolve the issue Synonyms important, consequential, earthshaking, earth-shattering, eventful, historic, major, material, meaningful, momentous, monumental, much, significant, substantial, tectonic, weightyRelated Words decisive, fatal, fateful, strategic; earnest, grave, heavy, serious, sincere; distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable; valuable, worthwhile, worthy; distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, noble, notable, noteworthy, outstanding, preeminent, prestigious; famous, notorious, renowned; all-important, central, critical, crucial, essential, key, pivotal, seminal, vitalNear Antonyms paltry, petty, worthless; anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknownAntonyms inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, minor, negligible, slight, small, trifling, trivial, unimportant

2 of a size greater than average of its kind bought a big apple to quench his raging appetite Synonyms large, biggish, boxcar, bulky, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome, hefty, hulking, husky, largish, outsize (also outsized), oversize (or oversized), sizable (or sizeable), substantial, tidy, voluminousRelated Words astronomical (also astronomic), Brobdingnagian, bumper, Bunyanesque, cavernous, colossal, cosmic (also cosmical), cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, gigantic, gross, hellacious, herculean, heroic (also heroical), Himalayan, huge, humongous (also humungous), immense, jumbo, king-size (or king-sized), leviathan, major, mammoth, massive, monolithic, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, pharaonic, prodigious, staggering, stupendous, super, super-duper, supersized, titanic, tremendous, vast, vasty, walloping, whacking, whopping; excessive, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, immoderate, inordinate; abundant, ample, appreciable, copious, plentiful; fat, thick; capacious, commodious, roomy, spaciousNear Antonyms diminutive, half-pint, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little-bitty, microminiature, microscopic (also microscopical), mini, miniature, minuscule, minute, pint-size (or pint-sized), pocket-size (also pocket-sized), pygmy, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee; petite, slender, slight, slim, thinAntonyms bantam, dinky, dwarf, dwarfish, little, puny, shrimpy, small, smallish, undersized (also undersize)

3 having, characterized by, or arising from a dignified and generous nature how big of you to give your subordinates most of the credit Synonyms noble, chivalrous, elevated, gallant, great, greathearted, high, high-minded, lofty, lordly, magnanimous, natural, sublimeRelated Words ennobled, exalted, glorified; heroic (also heroical), honorable, valiant, venerable, worthy; knightly, princely, regal; inspiring, moving, numinous, uplifting; august, magnificent, majesticNear Antonyms sordid, squalid, vile, wretched; abominable, contemptible, despicable, detestable, hateful, offensive, repulsive, ugly, vicious; dastardly, dirty, lousy, sorry; little, mean, narrow, small-minded; degrading, discreditable, humiliating, ignominious; coarse, crude, vulgarAntonyms base, debased, degenerate, degraded, ignoble, low

4 having an abundance of some characteristic quality (as flavor) inexperienced wine drinkers should not start with such a big wine Synonyms full-bodied, concentrated, full, heady, lusty, muscular, plush, potent, rich, robust, strongRelated Words heavy; straight, undiluted, unmixed; high-octane, high-test; enriched, fortified; concentratedNear Antonyms dilute, diluted, watered-down, wateryAntonyms delicate, light, mild, thin, thinned, weak, weakened

5 coming before all others in importance the big story that year was the assassination of the president Synonyms arch, foremost, capital, cardinal, central, chief, dominant, first, grand, great, greatest, highest, key, leading, main, master, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, paramount, predominant, preeminent, premier, primal, primary, principal, prior, sovereign (also sovran), supremeRelated Words distinguished, eminent, illustrious, noble, notable, noteworthy, outstanding, prestigious, signal, star, stellar, superior; high-level, senior, top; important, influential, major, mighty, momentous, significant; incomparable, matchless, unequaled (or unequalled), unparalleled, unsurpassed; celebrated, famed, famous, renownedNear Antonyms inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, minor, negligible, slight, trifling, trivial, unimportant; collateral, inferior, secondary, subordinate, subsidiaryAntonyms last, least

6 enjoying widespread favor or approval jackets with very wide lapels were big that year Synonyms popular, crowd-pleasing, du jour, faddish, faddy, fashionable, favorite, happening, hot, in, large, modish, pop, popularized, red-hot, vogue, voguishRelated Words semipopular; favorite, preferred, selected; desirable, liked, wanted; celebrated, famed, famous, noted, notorious, prominent, renowned, well-known; fabled, fabulous, legendary; leading, notable, outstanding, prominent, remarkable; important, significantNear Antonyms washed-up; despised, detested, disliked, hated, rejected; insignificant, unimportant; indistinguished, unexceptional; anonymous, nameless, obscure, unknown; inconspicuousAntonyms out, unfashionable, unpopular

7 containing unborn young within the body a mare big with a foal Synonyms pregnant, caught, enceinte, expectant, expecting, gone, gravid, heavy, quick [archaic]Related Words parturient, prenatal; childbearing, gestational; brooding; conceiving, impregnatedNear Antonyms barren, infertile; aborting, miscarrying; deliveredAntonyms nonpregnant

1 one of high position or importance within a group with that new promotion he's now one of the bigs in the company Synonyms big shot, big boy, big cheese, bigfoot, biggie, big gun, big leaguer, big-timer, big wheel, bigwig, fat cat, heavy, heavy hitter, heavyweight, high-muck-a-muck (or high-muckety-muck), honcho, kahuna, kingfish, kingpin, major leaguer, muckety-muck (also muck-a-muck or mucky-muck), nabob, nawab, nibs, nob [chiefly British], pooh-bah (also poo-bah), wheelRelated Words baron, czar (also tsar or tzar), king, lion, magnate, mogul, prince, tycoon; VIPNear Antonyms inferior, subordinate, underling; mediocrity, obscurityAntonyms lightweight, nobody, nonentity, nothing, shrimp, twerp, whippersnapper, zero, zilch

2 usually bigs pl  the highest level of a field of endeavor when a candidate is running for president, he's playing in the bigs and cannot afford to make major mistakes Synonyms big time(s), big league(s), major leagueRelated Words establishment, old guard