big
adjEtymology
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.
Definitions
Of great size, large.
- Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot.
Large with young
Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
- She was big with child.
- The Dawn is over-caſt, the Morning low’rs, And heavily in Clouds brings on the Day, The great, th’ important Day; big with the Fate Of Cato and of Rome.
Well-endowed
Well-endowed; with a desired body part notably large.
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Adult
Adult; (of a child) older.
- 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.
Mature, conscientious, principled
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.
- So the bloke says, 'Fine, that's real big of you, much appreciated,' and off he goes with Big John back to Ferrari's.
Important or significant.
- What's so big about that? I do it all the time.
- The great game of golf offered an antidote to the inevitable dead space — blocks of difficult-to-use hours, pre- and postflight — that are one of business travel’s biggest drags.
Popular.
- 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
Populous.
Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns
- You are a big liar. Why are you in such a big hurry?
- The little suggestions of look and tone; the easy fibs and bigger lies; the tricks of persuasion, the onleading wiles — all these I could not master.
- Why is it whenever I'm in a big hurry he's always in a big slow?
Operating on a large scale, especially if therefore having undue or sinister influence.
- big money
- Big Tech, Big Steel
- Big Science
Enthusiastic (about).
- 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.
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.
- Don't miss our November sale — it's your last chance to save big before Christmas!
- According to the Digital Marketing Institute, influencer marketing campaigns are paying off big for brands, generating roughly $5.78 for every dollar spent.
On a large scale, expansively.
- 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.
Hard
Hard; with great force.
- He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.
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.
An important or powerful person
An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
The big leagues, big time.
- 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.
An initiated member of a sorority or fraternity who acts as a mentor to a new member (the…
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.
- 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.
The participant in age roleplay who acts out the older role.
To inhabit
To inhabit; occupy.
To locate oneself.
To build
To build; erect; fashion.
To dwell
To dwell; have a dwelling.
One or more kinds of barley, especially six-rowed barley.
A biological insulation garment
A biological insulation garment; an air-tight, full-body suit intended to prevent the spread of contaminants.
Abbreviation of business is a game.
The neighborhood
Derived
archipelago big-eyed treefrog, as big as life, bastard big-footed mouse, be big on, beep, be the bigger man, big agile, big air, big and bad, big and tall, big and ugly enough, Big Apple, big as a barn, big as a house, big as bull-beef, big ask, big-ass, bigass, big ass, Big Ass Lake, big as the Beatles, bigature, big baby, big back, big bad, big band, Big Bang, big bang testing, big bat, big bath, Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Big Bear Valley, big beast, big beat, Big Ben, Big Bertha, big bikkies, big blind, big block · +341 more
Vish — recursive loop
A definitional loop anchored at big. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.
A definitional loop anchored at big. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.
7 hops · closes at big
curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA