Etimology
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.
adjective
big (comparative bigger, superlative biggest)
Of great size, large.
(sometimes figurative) Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
(informal) Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.
(informal) Adult; (of a child) older.
(informal, transitive with of) Mature, conscientious, principled; generous.
(informal) Important or significant.
Popular.
(of a city) Populous.
(informal) Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns
(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.
(informal, with on) Enthusiastic (about).
Examples
Synonyms: ample, huge, large, sizeable, stour, jumbo, massive; see also Thesaurus:large
Antonyms: little, small, tiny, minuscule, miniature, minute
Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot.
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.
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.
Synonyms: chubby, plus-size, rotund; see also Thesaurus:overweight
Gosh, she is big!
Synonyms: full, great, heavy; see also Thesaurus:pregnant
She was big with child.
[Day] big with the fate of Cato and of Rome.
Synonyms: busty, macromastic, stacked; see also Thesaurus:busty
Whoa, Nadia has gotten pretty big since she hit puberty.
I'm the shortest man on the team but in the gym shower everyone can see that I'm also the biggest.
I've been lifting weights for a full year now, but I'm finally getting big.
Synonyms: adult, fully grown, grown up; see also Thesaurus:full-grown
Antonyms: little, young
By midnight, however, the last light had fled / For even big people have then gone to bed[.]
Uh oh ... that looks like one of those things the big people don't want us to touch, Marvin!
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.
I don't think so, if you're shouting at people across the playground at your big age.
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.
So the bloke says, 'Fine, that's real big of you, much appreciated,' and off he goes with Big John back to Ferrari's.
Synonyms: essential, paramount, weighty; see also Thesaurus:important
What's so big about that? I do it all the time.
"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."
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.
Synonyms: all the rage, in demand, well liked
That style is very big right now in Europe, especially among teenagers.
Big in Japan, alright, pay then I'll sleep by your side / Things are easy when you're big in Japan
You are a big liar. Why are you in such a big hurry?
Why is it whenever I'm in a big hurry he's always in a big slow?
There were concerns about the ethics of big pharma.
big money
Big Tech, Big Steel
Big Science
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.
“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.”
Synonyms: fanatical, mad, worked up; see also Thesaurus:enthusiastic
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.
adverb
big (comparative bigger, superlative biggest)
In a loud manner.
In a boasting manner.
In a large amount or to a large extent.
On a large scale, expansively.
Hard.
Examples
He's always talking big, but he never delivers.
Synonyms: greatly, hugely, largely, massively; bigly
He won big betting on the croquet championship.
Don't miss our November sale — it's your last chance to save big before Christmas!
I've always been big into sport, but I'm especially big into football.
You've got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing.
'You've got to put it over big,' he was saying in a loud nasal voice.
He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.
noun
big (plural bigs)
An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
(in the plural) The big leagues, big time.
(university slang) A initiated member of a sorority or fraternity who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
(BDSM, ABDL) The participant in ageplay who acts out the older role.
Examples
Synonym: big shot
Synonym: big leagues
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.
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.
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.
Some traditions of the chapter include lineages with bigs and littles, receiving of paddles from a big, and a national stroll, Wolsch-Gallia said.
Antonym: little
Etimology
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.
Etimology
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”).
noun
big (uncountable)
One or more kinds of barley, especially six-rowed barley.