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
Andrew WeilMy mother is a big baker, and so was my grandmother …—Melissa Parks
Melissa ParksI'm not a big shopper, so for me to actually like a store is really saying something.—Matt Cameron
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
Laurie Frey5
: popular
soft drinks are very big in Mexico—Russ Leadabrand
Russ Leadabrand6
a
: of great force
a big storm
b
obsolete
: of great strength
Sir Launcelot was big and strong again.—Thomas Malory
Thomas Malory7
8
: full-bodied and flavorful
—used of wine
bigly
adverb
bigness
noun
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
1
: an individual or organization of outstanding importance or power
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
Martin Manley
Phrases
big on
: strongly favoring or liking
also
: noted for
she is big on blushing —Arnold Hano
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
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 5 May 2025
The industry also took some assurance from the fact that film and series, much like big tech, represent one of the United States’ strongest trade surpluses, because of how much more Hollywood blockbusters bring in from abroad compared to foreign content’s slim earnings within the United States.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 May 2025
The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Kylian Mbappé must come up big for Real Madrid to have a chance to pull off the comeback.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
After officials told Green to lay off the physicality – and the veteran big vociferously argued – the two went right back to jostling.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for big
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
On May 6, Schwartz is set to host the ASCAP Foundation Musical Theatre & Librettist Workshop, featuring a unique double bill of new musicals that gives audience members a sneak peek at what could be the next big ticket on Broadway.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 5 May 2025
The industry also took some assurance from the fact that film and series, much like big tech, represent one of the United States’ strongest trade surpluses, because of how much more Hollywood blockbusters bring in from abroad compared to foreign content’s slim earnings within the United States.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 May 2025
Adverb
Veteran Paul Reed stepped up big in the absence of Isaiah Stewart, adding six points, one rebound and one block.
—The Athletic Nba Staff, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2025
Kylian Mbappé must come up big for Real Madrid to have a chance to pull off the comeback.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Noun
The Pistons have used a combination of wings (Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr.) and bigs (Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, who sat Game 2 due to injury) to show Towns different looks on the defensive end.
—Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 22 Apr. 2025
After officials told Green to lay off the physicality – and the veteran big vociferously argued – the two went right back to jostling.
—Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for big
Cite this Entry
“Big.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
informal
: being older
my big sister
bigness
noun
big
2 of 2 adverb1
: in a big way
win big
2
: so as to boast
talk big
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