big

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Large in size, amount, or degree.

   They live in a big house near the park.

2. 2
   adj

   Important or serious.

   Buying a home is a big decision.

3. 3
   adj

   Kind, generous, and forgiving.

   She has a big heart and helps everyone.

4. 4
   adv

   In a way that is very successful or on a large scale.

   The play was a big success at the box office.

Common collocations

• big day Adjective + noun
• big difference Adjective + noun
• big problem Adjective + noun
• big brother Adjective + noun
• big deal Adjective + noun
• big favor Adjective + noun
• big game Adjective + noun
• big hit Adjective + noun
• big jump Adjective + noun
• big trouble Adjective + noun
• big win Adjective + noun
• big worry Adjective + noun

Inherited from Northern Middle English big, bigge (“powerful, strong”), possibly from a dialect of Old Norse. Ultimately perhaps a derivative of Proto-Germanic *bugja- (“swollen up, thick”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰew-, *bu- (“to swell”), in which case big would be related to bogey, bugbear, and bug. Compare dialectal Norwegian bugge (“great man”), Low German Bögge, Boggelmann.

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