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big

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adjective British English pronunciation: big /bɪɡ/ 
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adjectivebig
comparativebigger
superlativebiggest
  1. 1
    large in size

    a beautiful woman with big eyes

    He kept all his secret papers in a big box.

    great big (=very big):

    At the end of the lane was a great big house.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big
    1. a.
      a big person is tall and heavy, and often fat

      A big man stood in the doorway.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big
  2. 2
    large in degree, or having a strong effect

    The company faces big problems.

    The concerts have been a big success.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big
    1. a.
      very enthusiastic or serious about something

      They were big fans of the Beatles.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big
    2. b.
      [not usually before noun] informal popular with many people

      a type of music that is big in America

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big
  3. 3
    important or major

    We have another big game next week.

    I had never been involved in making the big decisions before.

    Big changes are likely to be made.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big
    1. a.
      powerful or successful in a particular area of activity

      The place was full of big businessmen.

      big in:

      Her mother is big in daytime television.

      the big two/three/four etc (=the two/three/four etc most important people or organizations):

      Other stores struggle to compete with the big four retailers.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big
    2. b.

      big

       or

      Big

       mainly journalism used for referring to large and powerful industries that are considered to have a lot of political influence

      Big Tobacco (=the major cigarette companies)

      an important victory for Big Oil

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  bigThesaurus entry for this meaning of big

phrases

See also

This is the British English definition of big. View American English definition of big.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

 

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