big
See also: BIG
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: bĭg, IPA(key): /bɪɡ/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪɡ
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”),[1] in which case big would be related to bogey, bugbear, and bug.
Compare dialectal Norwegian bugge (“great man”), Low German Bögge, Boggelmann.
Adjective
big (comparative bigger, superlative biggest)
- Of great size, large.
- Synonyms: ample, huge, large, sizeable, stoor, jumbo, massive; see also Thesaurus:large
- Antonyms: little, small, tiny, minuscule, miniature, minute
- Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot.
- 1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter III, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, OCLC 491297620:
- The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, […], with their court of farm and church and clustered village, in dignified seclusion.
- 2013 July 6, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68:
- Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return.
- (informal) Fat.
- Synonyms: chubby, plus-size, rotund; see also Thesaurus:overweight
- Gosh, she is big!
- (sometimes figurative) Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
- Synonyms: full, great, heavy; see also Thesaurus:pregnant
- She was big with child.
- 1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, OCLC 79426475, Act I, scene i, page 1:
- [Day] big with the fate of Cato and of Rome.
- (informal) Well-endowed, possessing large breasts in the case of a woman or a large penis in the case of a man.
- Synonyms: busty, macromastic, stacked; see also Thesaurus:busty
- Whoa, Nadia has gotten pretty big since she hit puberty.
- (informal) Adult; (of a child) older.
- Synonyms: adult, fully grown, grown up; see also Thesaurus:full-grown
- Antonyms: little, young
- Kids should get help from big people if they want to use the kitchen.
- We were just playing, and then some big kids came and chased us away.
- She did it all on her own like a big girl.
- 1931, Robert L. May, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Montgomery Ward (publisher), draft:
- By midnight, however, the last light had fled / For even big people have then gone to bed[.]
- (informal, slang, rare, of somebody's age) Old, mature. Used to imply that somebody is too old for something, or acting immaturely.
- 2020, Candice Carty-Williams, Notting Hill Carnival:
- I don't think so, if you're shouting at people across the playground at your big age.
- 2020, Candice Carty-Williams, Notting Hill Carnival:
- (informal, transitive with of) Mature, conscientious, principled; generous.
- That's very big of you; thank you!
- I tried to be the bigger person and just let it go, but I couldn't help myself.
- 2011, Joe Pieri, The Big Men, →ISBN:
- So the bloke says, 'Fine, that's real big of you, much appreciated,' and off he goes with Big John back to Ferrari's.
- (informal) Important or significant.
- Synonyms: essential, paramount, weighty; see also Thesaurus:important
- What's so big about that? I do it all the time.
- 1909, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead and Company, published 1919, OCLC 491297620:
- "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. I never did that. I always made up my mind I'd be a big man some day, and—I'm glad I didn't steal."
- 2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3-3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport:
- It proved a big miss as Hoilett produced a sublime finish into the top corner of the net from 20 yards after evading a couple of challenges in first-half stoppage time.
- Popular.
- Synonyms: all the rage, in demand, well liked
- That style is very big right now in Europe, especially among teenagers.
- 1984, “Big in Japan”, in Forever Young, performed by Alphaville:
- Big in Japan, alright, pay then I'll sleep by your side / Things are easy when you're big in Japan
- (of a city) Populous.
- (informal) Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns
- You are a big liar. Why are you in such a big hurry?
- (of an industry or other field, or institution(s) therein, often capitalized) Operating on a large scale, especially if therefore having undue or sinister influence.
- There were concerns about the ethics of big pharma.
- big money
- Big Tech, Big Steel (large or influential tech or steel companies)
- Big Science (science performed by large terms, of large scope, with government or corporate funding)
- 2019 April 25, Samanth Subramanian, “Hand dryers v paper towels: the surprisingly dirty fight for the right to dry your hands”, in The Guardian:
- After the Airblade’s launch, a battle began to boil, pitting the dryer industry against the world’s most powerful hand-drying lobby: Big Towel.
- 2020 July 28, “Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google Prepare for Their ‘Big Tobacco Moment’”, in New York Times:
- “The C.E.O.s don’t want to be testifying. Even having this collective hearing creates a sense of quasi-guilt just because of who else has gotten called in like this — Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, Big Banks,” said Paul Gallant, a tech policy analyst at the investment firm Cowen. “That’s not a crowd they want to be associated with.”
- (informal, with on) Enthusiastic (about).
- Synonyms: fanatical, mad, worked up; see also Thesaurus:enthusiastic
- 2019, Louise Taylor, Alex Morgan heads USA past England into Women’s World Cup final (in The Guardian, 2 July 2019)
- 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.
- I'm not big on the idea, but if you want to go ahead with it, I won't stop you.
Derived terms
- archipelago big-eyed treefrog
- bastard big-footed mouse
- be big on
- be the bigger man
- big agile
- big air
- big and tall
- big and ugly enough
- Big Apple
- big as a barn
- big as bull-beef
- big-ass
- big ass
- big baby
- big bad
- big band
- Big Bang
- big bang
- big bang testing
- big bat
- big bath
- big beat
- Big Ben
- Big Bertha
- big bikkies
- big blind
- big block
- big blue blanket
- big bluestem
- Big Board
- big-boned
- big boned
- big boob
- big-boob
- big box
- big-box
- big boy, big boys
- big-boy pants
- big boy pants
- big brain
- big break
- big-breasted
- Big Brother
- big brother
- big bucks
- big business
- big C
- big cassino
- big cat
- big-character poster
- big cheese
- big crunch
- Big Crunch
- Big D
- big D
- big daddy
- big dance
- big data
- big day
- big deal
- big deuce
- big dick energy
- big Dick from Boston
- big dipper
- Big Dipper
- big dog of the tanyard
- big drum
- big dyke energy
- Big E
- Big Easy
- big eater
- big eight
- big enchilada
- big end
- big-endian
- big end of town
- big enough and ugly enough
- big eye
- big-eyed tree frog
- big fat, big-fat, big phat
- big figure
- big final
- big finger
- big fish
- big fish in a little pond
- big fish in a small pond
- big five
- big fly
- Big Four
- big game
- bigger fish in the sea
- bigger fish to fry
- bigger picture
- bigger than Ben Hur
- bigger-than-life
- bigger than life
- bigger than shit
- biggie, no biggie
- big girl
- big girl pants
- big-girl pants
- big girl's blouse
- big government
- big gun
- big guy
- big hair
- big hairy armadillo
- big hand
- big H, Big H
- big head, big-head
- big-headed
- big-headedness
- big-headed turtle
- big-hearted
- big-heartedly
- big-heartedness
- big hitter
- Big Horn County
- big house
- big idea
- big if
- big iron
- Big Island
- big jobs
- big kahuna
- big kid
- big labor
- big labour
- Big Lake
- big-league
- big lick
- big lie
- big light
- big-lipped alligator moment
- big lug
- Big Mac
- big mad
- big mama
- big man
- big man on campus
- big man ting
- big mind
- big momma
- big-money
- big money
- big mood
- big mouth
- big-mouthed
- Big Muddy
- big name, big-name
- bigness
- big-note
- big O
- big oil
- big ol'
- big old, big ole
- big ones
- big one, the big one
- big O notation
- big pharma
- big picture
- Big Q
- Big Quill
- Big Rapids
- big red button
- big rig
- Big Rip
- Big River
- big room
- big room house
- big sagebrush
- big school
- big science
- big screen
- big shagbank
- Big Shanty
- big shop
- big shot
- big-shot
- big shoulder
- big-shouldered
- big show
- big sister
- big-sisterly
- Big Six
- big six, the big six
- big-sky thinking
- big sleep
- big slick
- Big Smoke
- big society
- big spender
- big spoon
- big spring
- Big Spring (place name)
- big stick
- Big Stone County
- Big Sur
- big switch
- big talk
- big tamale
- big tech
- big-tent
- big tent
- big things come in small packages
- Big Three
- big-ticket
- big ticket
- big-ticket item
- Big Timber
- big time, big-time, bigtime
- big-timer
- big tobacco
- big toe
- big top, big-top
- big tree
- big two
- Big Uglies
- big ugly dish
- big up
- big wheel
- big white chief
- big white telephone
- big whoop
- big wig, big-wig, bigwig
- big-wigged
- big woop
- big word
- big wow
- big year
- bite the big one
- catch big air
- deepwater big-eyed worm eel
- go big or go home
- great big
- green big-eyed tree frog
- have eyes bigger than one's belly
- have eyes bigger than one's stomach
- heart as big as Phar Lap
- hit it big
- hit the big time
- in a big way
- last big thing
- last of the big spenders
- little pitchers have big ears
- make a big thing out of
- make it big
- Mr. Big, Mr Big, Mister Big
- next big thing
- no big deal
- no big whoop
- no big woop
- one big happy family
- open one's big mouth
- speak softly and carry a big stick
- suck a big one
- talk big
- talk softly and carry a big stick
- talk to God on the big white telephone
- talk to Ralph on the big white telephone
- ten for the big guy
- the bigs
- there's always a bigger fish
- think big
- too big for one's boots, too big for one's britches
- too big for one's breeches
- too big to fail
- walk softly and carry a big stick
- what's the big idea
- win big
Translations
of a great size — See also translations at large
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adult
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Adverb
big (comparative bigger, superlative biggest)
- In a loud manner.
- In a boasting manner.
- He's always talking big, but he never delivers.
- In a large amount or to a large extent.
- He won big betting on the croquet championship.
- On a large scale, expansively.
- 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 25:
- 'You've got to put it over big,' he was saying in a loud nasal voice.
- You've got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing.
-
- Hard.
- He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.
Noun
big (plural bigs)
- An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
- Synonym: big shot
- (in the plural) The big leagues, big time.
- Synonym: big leagues
- 2004 June 23, Michelle Boorstein, “Ballclub^s Pullout Caps Va. Town^s Run of Woes; Struggling Martinsville No Longer Celebrates Its Boys of Summer”, in Washington Post:
- 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.
- (university slang) A initiated member of a sorority who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
- 2018, Kelly Ann Gonzales, Through an Opaque Window:
- 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.
- 2019 April 1, Audrey Steinkamp, “Sororities pair new members with "bigs"”, in Yale Daily News:
- She added that the relationship between bigs and littles is "what each pair makes of it," and that a lot of the pairs often get dinner together and become close friends.
- 2022 September 27, Shreya Varrier, “Gamma Rho Lambda provides LGBTQIA+ community in greek life”, in Iowa State Daily:
- Some traditions of the chapter include lineages with bigs and littles, receiving of paddles from a big, and a national stroll, Wolsch-Gallia said.
-
- (BDSM) The participant in ageplay who acts out the older role.
- Antonym: little
Etymology 2
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.
Verb
big (third-person singular simple present bigs, present participle bigging, simple past and past participle bigged)
- (transitive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To inhabit; occupy.
- (reflexive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To locate oneself.
- (transitive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To build; erect; fashion.
- (intransitive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To dwell; have a dwelling.
Derived terms
- unbigged
Etymology 3
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”).
Alternative forms
- bigg
- bygg, bygge (obsolete)
Noun
big (uncountable)
- One or more kinds of barley, especially six-rowed barley.
References
- Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 98-102
Anagrams
- GBI, GiB, Gib., gib
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch bagge, vigge, from Old Dutch *bigga, from Proto-West Germanic *biggō. Originally a word exclusive to the Northern Dutch dialects.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɪx/
audio (file) - Hyphenation: big
- Rhymes: -ɪx
Noun
big m or f (plural biggen, diminutive biggetje n)
- piglet, little pig
- Synonym: keu
Derived terms
- biggenkruid
Irish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bʲɪɟ/[1][2]
Adjective
big
- inflection of beag:
- vocative/genitive masculine singular
- (archaic) dative feminine singular
Mutation
| Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
| big | bhig | mbig |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||
References
- Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 43
- Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 30
Italian
Etymology
Pseudo-Italianism, an clipping of English big shot.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbiɡ/
- Rhymes: -iɡ
- Hyphenation: bìg
Noun
big m (invariable)
- star (entertainment)
- big shot, big noise
Romagnol
Etymology
English big.
Pronunciation
- (Central Romagnol): IPA(key): [ˈbiːɡ]
Noun
big m (invariable)
- important person
- Agnëli l'è un big dl'indóstria e dla finânza.
- G. Agnelli is an important person of industry and finance.
Scots
Etymology
From Old Norse byggja (“inhabit, build”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɪɡ/
Verb
big (third-person singular simple present bigs, present participle biggin, simple past biggit, past participle biggit)
- to build
Torres Strait Creole
Etymology
From English big, cognate with (the first part of) Bislama bikfala, bigfala, Pijin bigfala, Tok Pisin bikpela.
Adjective
big
- big
Derived terms
- big boil
- big maut
- big ren
- big taun
- big wata
- big win
Welsh
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /biːɡ/
Noun
big
- Soft mutation of pig.
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| pig | big | mhig | phig |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
Western Apache
Etymology
From Proto-Athabaskan *-wə̓t̕.
Cognates: Navajo -bid, Plains Apache -bid.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [pɪ̀k]
Noun
big (inalienable)
- belly, stomach, abdomen
- shibig ― my belly
- bibig ― her/his/their belly
Usage notes
- The form -big occurs in the White Mountain varieties; -bid occurs in San Carlos and Dilzhe’eh (Tonto).
Yola
Etymology
From Middle English bigge.
Adjective
big
- great
- 1867, GLOSSARY OF THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
- A big dole.
- A great deal.
-
References
- Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 36