bigadjective
usuk/bɪɡ/bigger, biggestbig adjective (LARGE)
A1 large in size or amount:
He's a big man.
Could I try these shoes in a bigger size?
They have a big house in the country.
She has blonde hair and big blue eyes.
She had a big pay rise.
I had a great big slice of chocolate cake for dessert.
A thousand people took part in the region's biggest ever cycle race.
informal You write August with a big (= capital) "a".
informal She's always been a big spender (= she has always spent a lot of money).
informal You're not a very big eater, are you? (= You do not eat a lot.)
A2 informal older or more like an adult:
Her big (= older) sister/brother told her to go away.
I'm ashamed of you. You're big enough to know better (= at an age where you should know that your behaviour is not acceptable).
C2 [ before noun ] informal used to add emphasis:
You're a big bully!
He fell for her in a big way (= was greatly attracted to her).
More examples
- What happened to your jacket? There's a big rip in the sleeve.
- The big windows make the room feel wonderfully light and airy.
- There's a big sports hall for tennis and badminton and such like.
- We made a big profit on that deal.
- That jacket looks a bit big for you.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Big and quite big
- appreciable
- baronial
- burly
- capacious
- commodious
- fair
- grand
- heavy
- juicy
- L, l
- large-scale
- largish
- macro
- mass
- spacious
- supersize
- swamp
- sweeping
- the bigger the better idiom
- walk-in
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Describing age & birthdays
Linguistics: very & extreme
big adjective (IMPORTANT)
A2 important, because of being powerful, or having a lot of influence or a serious effect:
He had a big decision to make.
There's a big difference between starting up a business and just talking about it.
The big story in the news this week is the mayor's resignation.
The four biggest banks are all planning to cut their service charges.
be big somewhere/in sth informal
to be important or famous in a particular place or type of work:
They're big in Japan, but no one's heard of them here.
C1 informal If a product or activity is big, it is extremely popular:
Hip-hop is still big today.
More examples
- She'll be in big trouble if she crashes Sam's car.
- Her big opportunity came when she was offered a role in a Spielberg film.
- His height and reach give him a big advantage over other boxers.
- I must get some sleep - I've got a big day tomorrow.
- Exercise can make a big difference to your state of health.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Very important or urgent
- all-important
- arch
- at all cost(s) idiom
- be a matter of life and/or death idiom
- burning
- chief
- considerable
- critical
- major league
- make the world go around/round idiom
- materially
- minor league
- mission-critical
- prized
- prominent
- radical
- sacred
- salient
- seriously
- substantial
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Important people and describing important people
Liked, or not liked, by many people
Idiom(s)
a big ask
be big of sb
be big on sth
be no big deal
big deal!
big fish/gun/noise/shot/wheel
the big/bigger picture
the bigger the better
the bigger they are, the harder they fall
the big I am
have big ideas
make it big
too big for your boots
what's the big idea?