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Definitions

big

[big] / bɪg /






Usage

What are other ways to say big? In reference to the size and extent of concrete objects, big is the most general and most colloquial word, large is somewhat more formal, and great is highly formal and even poetic, suggesting also that the object is notable or imposing: a big tree; a large tree; a great oak; a big field; a large field; great plains. When the reference is to degree or a quality, great is the usual word: great beauty; great mistake; great surprise; although big sometimes alternates with it in colloquial style: a big mistake; a big surprise; large is usually not used in reference to degree, but may be used in a quantitative reference: a large number (great number).

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

"Being the underdog has given him the freedom to take some big swings."

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

Releasing your first album is a big step for any artist, but for Jazzy it's one that's followed some huge strides.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Apple’s new foldable iPhone went on sale in stores Friday and the reviews that greeted CEO John Ternus’s big release were mixed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

The Tampa Bay Rays will host those games, but the Brewers invited fans to come to their stadium and watch on the big screen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

So my mom was going to see her, even though there was a big storm looming.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

As the harvest shifts, Maine's lobstermen are sailing out to deeper waters -- on bigger boats, using more diesel and crew.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 2026

This is when our brain makes us think the Moon looks bigger because it is viewed alongside objects on the horizon such as buildings and trees.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Unlike hotels in cities, resort properties are also bigger — with sometimes thousands of rooms — allowing them to spread the cost of doing business across more customers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

Chapman pointed out that he had a bigger vehicle for making a difference.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Charlie remarked that in a bigger school with at least nineteen pupils, you’d have two teams for real baseball, and an umpire.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

It was the biggest box-office debut for a non-music documentary since Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” in 2004.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

If that's not enough, on Saturday she has her biggest gig yet when she'll be playing tracks like No Bad Vibes and Someday in front of a home crowd in Dublin.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Read: Treasury yields log biggest drop since the 2023 banking crisis.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding peri-implantitis has been its similarity to periodontitis, the gum disease that develops around natural teeth.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

“And Oceania is the biggest region in the world. We’re part of that. We’ve got big stories.”

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

I've bigged myself up about doing an Ironman, but now I'm starting to regret that!

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2025

“This agreement has been bigged up as something that will be a solution to the world’s food shortage, and it is just not,” said Tracey Allen, an agricultural commodities strategist at JPMorgan Chase.

From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022

Brendan was never as good as people bigged him up to me.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2015

Across the world in Los Angeles, the Compton Cricket Club is bigged in by Cloth's Bullets – a song, like the CCC itself, dedicated to fighting homelessness and gang culture with civility and dignity.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 25, 2013

But whan erthe opon erthe     has bigged his borowes, 12 Than sall erthe for the erthe     sofur sharpe shovres.

From Erthe Upon Erthe by Various

"Without bigging myself up, people have been knighted for less than that."

From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025

Perhaps the city is not as forward about bigging itself up as somewhere like Manchester.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2024

Another massive performance and others aside from Sinfield might be bigging him up.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

GP I really don’t want it to sound like I’m bigging myself up.

From New York Times ● Dec. 9, 2021

"About this bit bourock, your honour," answered the undaunted Edie; "I mind the bigging o't."

From The Antiquary — Volume 01 by Sir Walter Scott


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