# big

Pronunciation: say "BIG" /bɪɡ/

## Adjective

1. Of great physical size; large in dimensions or amount.
   - Simple: Large in size or amount.
   - _The movers struggled to fit the big sofa through the doorway._
   - _Construction crews cleared a big stretch of forest for the new highway._
2. Important or significant in its effect or consequence.
   - Simple: Very important, or able to change a lot of things.
   - _The merger marked a big turning point for the entire industry._
   - _Today's verdict raises some big questions about how the law will be applied._
3. Used to intensify a following noun, especially one with a negative meaning. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used before another word to make it sound stronger, often a bad one.
   - _He's a big show-off whenever the cameras are around._
   - _The whole plan turned into a big mess within a week._
10. Grown-up or older, especially of a child compared with a younger one. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Older or more grown-up, often said of a child or an older brother or sister.
   - _He's a big boy now and walks to school on his own._
   - _Her big sister always looks out for her at the playground._
4. Widely liked or in fashion; popular.
   - Simple: Liked by a lot of people right now.
   - _The band got big after their song went viral online._
   - _Spicy noodles are big across college campuses this year._
5. Operating on a very large scale, especially in a way that wields undue or sinister influence.
   - Simple: Used for huge industries or fields, often suggesting they have too much power.
   - _Campaigners accused big pharma of inflating prices to protect its profits._
   - _The documentary argued that big agriculture quietly shapes farming laws in its favor._
6. Greatly enthusiastic about something. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Liking something a lot and excited about it.
   - _Our manager is big on punctuality and expects everyone in early._
   - _Travelers who are big on local food skip the tourist restaurants._
8. Having a large population; populous.
   - Simple: Having a large number of people living in a place.
   - _The nation's biggest city holds nearly a third of its population, and housing there is hard to find._
   - _It is a big city, home to nearly nine million people._
12. Of a person: large in build, heavy, or very muscular. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Having a large body, because of weight or strong muscles.
   - _He had grown big over the winter and needed new clothes._
   - _The wrestler was a big guy with a thick, powerful build._
13. Mature and principled in conduct; generous toward others. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Kind and fair, willing to do the right thing.
   - _Forgiving his rival took a big heart and real maturity._
   - _She was big enough to admit her mistake in front of everyone._
17. Having a notably large penis; well-endowed. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Having a large penis.
   - _Locker-room gossip insisted he was big, and he never tried to deny it._
   - _She had heard he was big, and that first night confirmed the rumors._
18. Having large breasts; big-breasted. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Having large breasts.
   - _She'd always been big up top, so finding a sports bra with real support took some searching._
   - _The dress flattered her, even though she was quite big on top._
21. Large with young; pregnant or swelling, and ready to give birth or bring forth.
   - Simple: Carrying young inside, or ready to give birth.
   - _The ewe grew big with lamb as spring approached._
   - _The clouds hung low, big with the rain they were about to release._

## Noun

7. The top tier of competition or success; the big leagues or big time.
   - Simple: The top level of a sport or career, like the big leagues.
   - _The young pitcher got called up to the bigs this season._
   - _Breaking into the bigs takes years of grinding through lower divisions._
16. A person or thing notably large in stature.
   - Simple: A person or thing that is large in size.
   - _The coach sent in a big to guard the basket._
   - _Among the bigs on the team, he had the longest reach._

## Adverb

9. To a great extent or on a large scale, including in an ambitious or expansive manner.
   - Simple: To a great extent or on a large, ambitious scale.
   - _The startup gambled on the new product and it paid off big._
   - _Fans turned out big for the championship parade downtown._
14. To a large extent; used to intensify a following preposition such as 'into' or 'on'. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Used before words like 'into' or 'on' to mean very keen on something.
   - _He's been big into competitive chess since college._
   - _My nephew got big into baking sourdough during his first year of college._
15. In a boastful manner; so as to brag.
   - Simple: In a way that brags or shows off.
   - _The rookie talked big in the locker room, promising a championship by spring._
   - _They talk big about their plans, yet nothing ever gets started._
19. So as to produce a loud sound; loudly.
   - Simple: In a way that is loud and full of sound.
   - _The brass section came in big, drowning out the strings._
   - _The director kept telling the cast to sing it big so their voices would reach the back row._
20. So as to strike with great force; hard. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: In a way that hits hard, with a lot of force.
   - _The young linebacker hits big, and running backs feel his tackles for days afterward._
   - _Their cleanup hitter swings big, so when he connects, the ball usually leaves the park._

## Noun

11. An important or powerful person; a celebrity or notable figure. *(rare)*
   - Simple: An important or powerful person, like a famous star.
   - _Network bigs flew in from New York to watch the pilot screening._
   - _Studio bigs met behind closed doors to settle the dispute._
24. One or more types of barley, especially the six-rowed variety. *(archaic, Northern England, Scotland, UK)*
   - Simple: A type of barley grain, especially the six-rowed kind.

## Verb

22. To live in or settle oneself in a place. *(archaic, Northern England, Scotland, UK)*
   - Simple: To live or settle somewhere.
23. To build, erect, or fashion something. *(archaic, Northern England, Scotland, UK)*
   - Simple: To build or make something.

## Other meanings

- (noun) An initiated member of a sorority or fraternity who mentors a newer member, called the little.
- (noun) The participant in ageplay who takes on the older, often caretaking role, opposite the little.
- (verb) To live somewhere or make one's home in a place.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–21** — Northern Middle English had big, bigge, meaning "powerful, strong," possibly taken from a dialect of Old Norse. Its ultimate source may be a Proto-Germanic root meaning "swollen up, thick," from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to swell." If so, big is related to bogey, bugbear, and bug.
**Meanings 22–23** — Old Norse byggja, byggva, meaning "to build, dwell in, inhabit," was a secondary form of búa ("to dwell"). It gave Middle English biggen, byggen. Old English būan is related, and Danish bygge and Swedish bygga are cognates.
**Meaning 24** — Proto-Germanic *bewwuz ("crop, barley") gave Old Norse bygg ("barley"), which became Middle English byge. Old English bēow ("barley") is a cognate.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/big (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).