big

Etymology 1

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.

adj

1. Of great size, large.
   Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot.
   Investors face a quandary. Cash offers a return of virtually zero in many developed countries; government-bond yields may have risen in recent weeks but they are still unattractive. Equities have suffered two big bear markets since 2000 and are wobbling again. It is hardly surprising that pension funds, insurers and endowments are searching for new sources of return. 2013-07-06, “The rise of smart beta”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8843, page 68
   1. (informal) Fat.
      Gosh, she is big!
2. (sometimes figurative) Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
   She was big with child.
3. (informal) Well-endowed, possessing large breasts in the case of a woman or a large penis in the case of a man.
   Whoa, Nadia has gotten pretty big since she hit puberty.
4. (informal) Adult; (of a child) older.
   By midnight, however, the last light had fled / For even big people have then gone to bed[.] 1931, Robert L. May, Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Montgomery Ward (publisher), draft
   Uh oh ... that looks like one of those things the big people don't want us to touch, Marvin! Apr 12 1998, Tom Armstrong, Marvin (comic)
   Kids should get help from big people if they want to use the kitchen.
   We were just playing, and then some big kids came and chased us away.
   She did it all on her own like a big girl.
   1. (informal, slang, rare, of somebody's age) Old, mature. Used to imply that somebody is too old for something, or acting immaturely.
      I don't think so, if you're shouting at people across the playground at your big age. 2020, Candice Carty-Williams, Notting Hill Carnival
5. (informal, transitive with of) Mature, conscientious, principled; generous.
   That's very big of you; thank you!
   I tried to be the bigger person and just let it go, but I couldn't help myself.
   So the bloke says, 'Fine, that's real big of you, much appreciated,' and off he goes with Big John back to Ferrari's. 2011, Joe Pieri, The Big Men
6. (informal) Important or significant.
   What's so big about that? I do it all the time.
   It proved a big miss as Hoilett produced a sublime finish into the top corner of the net from 20 yards after evading a couple of challenges in first-half stoppage time. October 29, 2011, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3-3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport
7. Popular.
   That style is very big right now in Europe, especially among teenagers.
   Big in Japan, alright, pay then I'll sleep by your side / Things are easy when you're big in Japan 1984, “Big in Japan”, in Forever Young, performed by Alphaville
8. (of a city) Populous.
9. (informal) Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns
   You are a big liar.  Why are you in such a big hurry?
10. (of an industry or other field, or institution(s) therein, often capitalized) Operating on a large scale, especially if therefore having undue or sinister influence.
    There were concerns about the ethics of big pharma.
    big money
    Big Tech, Big Steel (large or influential tech or steel companies)
    Big Science (science performed by large terms, of large scope, with government or corporate funding)
    After the Airblade’s launch, a battle began to boil, pitting the dryer industry against the world’s most powerful hand-drying lobby: Big Towel. April 25 2019, Samanth Subramanian, “Hand dryers v paper towels: the surprisingly dirty fight for the right to dry your hands”, in The Guardian
    “The C.E.O.s don’t want to be testifying. Even having this collective hearing creates a sense of quasi-guilt just because of who else has gotten called in like this — Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, Big Banks,” said Paul Gallant, a tech policy analyst at the investment firm Cowen. “That’s not a crowd they want to be associated with.” 2020-07-28, “Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google Prepare for Their ‘Big Tobacco Moment’”, in New York Times
11. (informal, with on) Enthusiastic (about).
    Neville is big on standing by his principles and he deserves plaudits for acknowledging he got his starting system wrong, reverting to 4-2-3-1 and introducing Kirby in the No 10 role. 2 July 2019, Louise Taylor, “Alex Morgan heads USA past England into Women’s World Cup final”, in The Guardian
    I'm not big on the idea, but if you want to go ahead with it, I won't stop you.

adv

1. In a loud manner.
2. In a boasting manner.
   He's always talking big, but he never delivers.
3. In a large amount or to a large extent.
   He won big betting on the croquet championship.
4. On a large scale, expansively.
   'You've got to put it over big,' he was saying in a loud nasal voice. 1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 25
   You've got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing.
5. Hard.
   He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.

noun

1. An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
2. (in the plural) The big leagues, big time.
   In the Appalachian League, where Cal Ripken once played in Bluefield, W.Va., a ballplayer's chances of making it to the bigs are less than one in six. June 23, 2004, Michelle Boorstein, “Ballclub^s Pullout Caps Va. Town^s Run of Woes; Struggling Martinsville No Longer Celebrates Its Boys of Summer”, in Washington Post
3. (university slang) A initiated member of a sorority who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
   He was there the night of Cristoph's party. All the littles were assigned to their bigs. Ian and Christoph had rushed the same fraternity. When they became upperclassmen, they both ended up on the board. 2018, Kelly Ann Gonzales, Through an Opaque Window
   She added that the relationship between bigs and littles is "what each pair makes of it," and that a lot of the pairs often get dinner together and become close friends. 2019-04-01, Audrey Steinkamp, “Sororities pair new members with "bigs"”, in Yale Daily News
   Some traditions of the chapter include lineages with bigs and littles, receiving of paddles from a big, and a national stroll, Wolsch-Gallia said. 2022-09-27, Shreya Varrier, “Gamma Rho Lambda provides LGBTQIA+ community in greek life”, in Iowa State Daily
4. (BDSM) The participant in ageplay who acts out the older role.

Etymology 2

From Middle English biggen, byggen, from Old Norse byggja, byggva (“to build, dwell in, inhabit”), a secondary form of Old Norse búa (“to dwell”), related to Old English būan (“to dwell”). Cognate with Danish bygge, Swedish bygga.

verb

1. (transitive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To inhabit; occupy.
2. (reflexive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To locate oneself.
3. (transitive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To build; erect; fashion.
4. (intransitive, archaic, UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland) To dwell; have a dwelling.

Etymology 3

From Middle English byge, from Old Norse bygg (“barley, probably Hordeum vulgare, common barley”), from Proto-Germanic *bewwuz (“crop, barley”). Cognate with Old English bēow (“barley”).

noun

1. One or more kinds of barley, especially six-rowed barley.