Refine this word faster

Stronger alternatives Opposite tone Use in context Cross-language nuance

Big

//bɪɡ// adj, adv, noun, phrase, verb, slang

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of great size, large.
"Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot."
2
Of great size, large.; Fat. informal
"Gosh, she is big!"
3
Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce. figuratively, sometimes
"She was big with child."
4
Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.; Specifically, big-breasted. informal
5
Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.; Having a large penis. informal
"I'm the shortest man on the team but in the gym shower everyone can see that I'm also the biggest."

Show 10 more definitions

6
Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.; Having large muscles, especially visible ones such as the chest and arm muscles. informal
"I've been lifting weights for a full year now, but I'm finally getting big."
7
Adult; (of a child) older. informal
"Kids should get help from big people if they want to use the kitchen."
8
Adult; (of a child) older.; Old, mature. Used to imply that someone is too old for something, or acting immaturely. informal, rare, slang
"I don't think so, if you're shouting at people across the playground at your big age."
9
Mature, conscientious, principled; generous. informal
"That's very big of you; thank you!"
10
Important or significant. informal
"What's so big about that? I do it all the time."
11
Popular.
"That style is very big right now in Europe, especially among teenagers."
12
Populous.
13
Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns informal
"You are a big liar. Why are you in such a big hurry?"
14
Operating on a large scale, especially if therefore having undue or sinister influence. capitalized, humorous, often, sometimes
"big money"
15
Enthusiastic (about). informal
"Neville is big on standing by his principles and he deserves plaudits for acknowledging he got his starting system wrong, reverting to 4-2-3-1 and introducing Kirby in the No 10 role."

Adjective

1
in an advanced stage of pregnancy wordnet
2
conspicuous in position or importance wordnet
3
given or giving freely wordnet
4
generous and understanding and tolerant wordnet
5
marked by intense physical force wordnet

Show 8 more definitions

6
significant wordnet
7
above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent wordnet
8
loud and firm wordnet
9
(of animals) fully developed wordnet
10
serious or severe wordnet
11
feeling self-importance wordnet
12
exhibiting self-importance wordnet
13
prodigious wordnet

Adverb

1
In a loud manner.
2
In a boasting manner.
"He's always talking big, but he never delivers."
3
In a large amount or to a large extent.
"He won big betting on the croquet championship."
4
In a large amount or to a large extent.; (modifying a preposition) informal
"I've always been big into sport, but I'm especially big into football."
5
On a large scale, expansively.
"You've got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing."

Show 1 more definition

6
Hard; with great force. colloquial
"He hit him big and the guy just crumpled."

Adverb

1
in a boastful manner wordnet
2
in a major way wordnet
3
on a grand scale wordnet
4
extremely well wordnet

Noun

1
Someone or something that is large in stature.
"You could throw out everything else, but I had the speed to split double-teams. Like, go at double-teams numerous times in a possession, on consecutive possessions where I'm testing your endurance, your bigs."
2
One or more kinds of barley, especially six-rowed barley. Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, uncountable
3
A biological insulation garment; an air-tight, full-body suit intended to prevent the spread of contaminants.
4
An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
5
The big leagues, big time. in-plural
"In the Appalachian League, where Cal Ripken once played in Bluefield, W.Va., a ballplayer's chances of making it to the bigs are less than one in six."

Show 2 more definitions

6
An initiated member of a sorority or fraternity who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
"He was there the night of Cristoph's party. All the littles were assigned to their bigs. Ian and Christoph had rushed the same fraternity. When they became upperclassmen, they both ended up on the board."
7
The participant in ageplay who acts out the older role.

Phrase

1
Abbreviation of business is a game. abbreviation, alt-of

Verb

1
To inhabit; occupy. Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, transitive
2
To locate oneself. Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, reflexive
3
To build; erect; fashion. Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, transitive
4
To dwell; have a dwelling. Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal, intransitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

Inherited from Northern Middle English big, bigge (“powerful, strong”), possibly from a dialect of Old Norse. Ultimately perhaps a derivative of Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”), in which case big would be related to bogey, bugbear, and bug. Compare dialectal Norwegian bugge (“great man”), Low German Bögge, Boggelmann.

Etymology 2

Etymology 3

Etymology 4

From Middle English biggen, byggen, from Old Norse byggja, byggva (“to build, dwell in, inhabit”), a secondary form of Old Norse búa (“to dwell”), related to Old English būan (“to dwell”). Cognate with Danish bygge, Swedish bygga.

Etymology 5

From Middle English byge, from Old Norse bygg (“barley, probably Hordeum vulgare, common barley”), from Proto-Germanic *bewwuz (“crop, barley”). Cognate with Old English bēow (“barley”).

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation

Mini challenge

Want a quick game? Try Word Finder.

Refine this word faster

Big

Definitions

Etymology

See also for "big"

Next best steps

Mini challenge