TKG English Learner's Dictionary

big

bigadjective

American /bɪɡ/ British /bɪɡ/
comparative bigger superlative biggest
very commondefining vocabulary

Big means large in size, amount, or importance.

  1. largelarge in size, amount, or degree

    Collocations

    adjective + noun a big house, a big city, a big crowd, a big dog, big feet, a big difference
    adverb + adjective very big, really big, pretty big, too big, so big

    Synonyms large; huge (huge is much bigger)

    Antonyms small; little

  2. importantimportant or serious

    Collocations

    adjective + noun a big decision, a big day, a big problem, a big mistake, big news, a big change

    Synonyms important; major; serious

    Antonyms minor

  3. olderolder, or grown up

    Collocations

    adjective + noun big brother, big sister, a big boy, a big girl

    Antonyms little (my little brother is my younger brother)

    For translators (sense 3)

    Meaning across languages Big brother and big sister mean older, not tall or fat; many languages have a separate word for an older sibling.

  4. popularvery successful or popular

    informal

    • That song was big last summer.
    • The band is big in Europe but almost unknown at home. (big in a place)
    • Small electric cars are big this year.

    Collocations

    phrase big in, become big, the next big thing

    Synonyms popular; successful

  5. does a lotdoing something a lot, especially as a habit

    informal

    Collocations

    adjective + noun a big reader, a big eater, a big spender

  6. keenliking something very much, or very interested in it

    informal

    Collocations

    adjective + noun a big fan
    adjective + preposition big on

Phrases

big deal informal

something important or special

Often used in the negative: it's no big deal means that it does not matter. Said on its own, Big deal! shows that you are not impressed. To make a big deal of something is to treat it as more important than it is.

Choosing between big · large · great

Big is the everyday word for size and also for importance: a big house, a big decision. Large is slightly more formal and is used mainly for size and amount; for importance, big is the usual word: a large amount, a large family, a large number. Great is used for size mainly in formal or literary writing (a great oak); in ordinary speech it means very good (a great idea) or very important (a great leader), and with feelings and uncountable nouns it means a lot of: great difficulty, great care.

Usage

In speech big is used like an adverb in a few phrases: think big, win big, make it big. In careful writing, large is often preferred for amounts and numbers: a large amount of money, a large number of people; a big increase is normal.

Common mistakes

a big number of people a large number of people
With number, amount, and quantity, large is the usual choice.
There was a big rain last night. There was heavy rain last night.
Rain, snow, and traffic are usually heavy, not big; wind is usually strong.

For translators

Meaning across languages Big covers physical size and importance; many languages use different words. For amounts and numbers English prefers large, and for weather heavy. Big brother and big sister, meaning an older sibling rather than a tall or fat one, are a separate word in many languages.
Grammar trap The comparative and superlative double the g: bigger, biggest. Big is used both before a noun and after be.
Pronunciation trap The vowel is the short i of sit, and the final g is a full g sound with no vowel after it; it must not become k.