Big vs. Great

By Jaxson

  • Big (adjective)

    Of great size, large.

    “Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot.”

  • Big (adjective)

    Thought to have undue influence.

    “There were concerns about the ethics of big science.”

  • Big (adjective)

    Popular.

    “That style is very big right now in Europe, especially among teenagers.”

  • Big (adjective)

    Adult.

    “Kids should get help from big people if they want to use the kitchen.”

  • Big (adjective)

    Fat.

    “Gosh, she is big!”

  • Big (adjective)

    Important or significant.

    “What’s so big about that? I do it all the time.”

  • Big (adjective)

    Enthusiastic (about).

    “I’m not big on the idea, but if you want to go ahead with it, I won’t stop you.”

  • Big (adjective)

    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.”

  • Big (adjective)

    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.”

  • Big (adjective)

    Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.

    “She was big with child.”

  • Big (adjective)

    Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns

    “You are a big liar.”

    “Why are you in such a big hurry?”

  • Big (adverb)

    In a loud manner.

  • Big (adverb)

    In a boasting manner.

    “He’s always talking big, but he never delivers.”

  • Big (adverb)

    In a large amount or to a large extent.

    “He won big betting on the croquet championship.”

  • Big (adverb)

    On a large scale, expansively.

    “You’ve got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing.”

  • Big (adverb)

    Hard.

    “He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.”

  • Big (noun)

    Someone or something that is large in stature

  • Big (noun)

    An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.

  • Big (noun)

    The big leagues, big time.

  • Big (noun)

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

  • Big (verb)

    To praise, recommend, or promote.

  • Big (verb)

    to inhabit; occupy

  • Big (verb)

    to locate oneself

  • Big (verb)

    to build; erect; fashion

  • Big (verb)

    to dwell; have a dwelling

  • Great (adjective)

    Relatively large in scale, size, extent, number (i. e. having many parts or members) or duration (i. e. relatively long); very big.

    “A great storm is approaching our shores.”

    “a great assembly”

    “a great wait”

  • Great (adjective)

    Of larger size or more importance than others of its kind.

    “the great auk”

  • Great (adjective)

    Involving more generations than the word qualified implies (from 1510s). [see Derived terms]

    “great-grandfather”

  • Great (adjective)

    Pregnant; large with young; full of.

    “great with child”

    “great with hope”

  • Great (adjective)

    Intimate; familiar.

  • Great (adjective)

    Extreme or more than usual.

    “great worry”

  • Great (adjective)

    Of significant importance or consequence; important.

    “a great decision”

  • Great (adjective)

    Arising from or possessing superior; commanding; heroic; illustrious; eminent.

    “a great deed”

    “a great nature”

    “a great history”

  • Great (adjective)

    Impressive or striking.

    “a great show of wealth”

  • Great (adjective)

    Much in use; favoured.

    “Poetry was a great convention of the Romantic era.”

  • Great (adjective)

    Endowed with extraordinary powers; of exceptional talents or achievements; uncommonly gifted; able to accomplish vast results; remarkable; strong; powerful; mighty; noble.

    “a great hero, scholar, genius, philosopher, writer etc.”

  • Great (adjective)

    Title referring to an important leader.

    “Alexander the Great”

  • Great (adjective)

    Doing or active or enthusiastic.

    “What a great buffoon!”

    “He’s not a great one for reading.”

    “a great walker”

  • Great (adjective)

    Skilful or adroit.

    “a great carpenter”

    “You are great at singing.”

  • Great (adjective)

    Very good; excellent; wonderful; fantastic (from 1848).

    “Dinner was great.”

  • Great (adjective)

    Intensifying a word or expression, used in mild oaths.

    “a dirty great smack in the face”

    “Great Scott!”

  • Great (interjection)

    Expression of gladness and content about something.

    “Great! Thanks for the wonderful work.”

  • Great (interjection)

    sarcastic inversion thereof.

    “Oh, great! I just dumped all 500 sheets of the manuscript all over and now I have to put them back in order.”

  • Great (noun)

    A person of major significance, accomplishment or acclaim.

    “Newton and Einstein are two of the greats of the history of science.”

  • Great (noun)

    The main division in a pipe organ, usually the loudest division.

  • Great (adverb)

    very well in a very satisfactory manner

    “Those mechanical colored pencils work great because they don’t have to be sharpened.”

Wiktionary
  • Big (adjective)

    of considerable size or extent

    “big staff cuts”

    “big buildings”

    “her big hazel eyes”

  • Big (adjective)

    larger than other items of the same kind

    “my big toe”

  • Big (adjective)

    grown-up

    “I’m a big girl now”

  • Big (adjective)

    elder

    “my big sister”

  • Big (adjective)

    on an ambitiously large scale

    “a small company with big plans”

  • Big (adjective)

    doing a specified action very often or on a very large scale

    “a big gambler”

    “a big eater”

  • Big (adjective)

    showing great enthusiasm

    “a big tennis fan”

  • Big (adjective)

    of considerable importance or seriousness

    “it’s a big decision”

    “his biggest problem is money”

    “he made a big mistake”

  • Big (adjective)

    very popular or successful

    “African bands which are big in Britain”

  • Big (adjective)

    holding an important position or playing an influential role

    “as a senior in college, he was a big man on campus”

  • Big (adjective)

    generous

    “‘I’m inclined to take pity on you.’ ‘That’s big of you!’”

  • Big (verb)

    praise or recommend something highly

    “the record’s been on the streets a while now, but it’s still worth bigging up”

  • Big (noun)

    the major league in a professional sport

    “the day he made it to the bigs, he forgot every minor league ballpark he ever played in”

Oxford Dictionary

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