What does “big” mean?
- 1
adjectivelarge in size or amount
They live in a big house.
- 2
adjectiveimportant or serious
Moving abroad is a big decision.
Big at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /bɪɡ/ · BIG
- Forms
- bigger, biggest
How to use “big” correctly
“Big” is common in speaking; “large” is more formal and is used for sizes and amounts: “a large population”.
Common phrases with “big”
- big deal
- big city
- big problem
Synonyms, opposites and related words
“big” is on these word lists
Learn these words next
- best adjectiveA1better than all others
- better adjectiveA1of a higher standard or more suitable than something else
- different adjectiveA1not the same as another person or thing
- first adjectiveA1coming before all others in time, order or importance
- free adjectiveA1costing no money
- full adjectiveA1holding as much or as many as possible
- great adjectiveA1very good or enjoyable
- high adjectiveA1a long way from the bottom to the top, or far above the ground