big

Meanings

1. Of great size or amount.
2. Important or serious.

Example sentences

• "They live in a big house near the river."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "This is a big day for our team."

  Level A2, Meaning 2

• "My bigger sister drives me to school."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "He made a big mistake on the form."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• large : Large is a little more formal and is used for size and amount. Big is more common in speech and can also mean important.

Word family and forms

Forms: bigger, biggest

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "big".

• a big city
• big difference
• big mistake
• big news
• think big
• big brother

Idioms and phrases

think big

To have large plans and not be afraid of great goals.

"If you want to start a company, you have to think big."

a big deal

Something very important, or something people make a fuss about.

"It is not a big deal if you are a few minutes late."

Origin

Big appears in Middle English around the 1300s and may have been borrowed from a Scandinavian dialect, but its origin is not certain.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Dictionary.com.

Usage notes

"Big" is the everyday word for large size. "Enormous" or "massive" sound stronger and more dramatic.

How to remember it

Big, bigger, biggest: the g doubles before -er and -est, so say "big-ger" and you will spell it right.

Test yourself

Learn next at A1

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