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An important part of learning any language is learning usage, that is, how certain words are typically used. You may know the translation of a word in your native language, or you may know the definition in the language you’re learning, but it’s easy to use that word in an odd or awkward way. A lot of usage is just convention – how native speakers have been using a word. But the precise meaning (big as in heavy, or big as in tall?) is also important.

In this post we’ll look at synonyms for the very basic word big, and we’ll look at precise meaning and usage to help you tell them apart, along with loads of examples.

Basic Big

Big and large are both very commonly used, and they mean pretty much the same thing. Large is typically used to describe physical size, while big is used much more generally.  So while you could say I have a big headache, it sounds odd to say *I have a large headache. Huge is also very commonly used, for both size and more generally, to mean very big or very large.

big: (physical size, or more general)

• Elephants are very big animals.
• New York is a big city.
• We have a big problem.

large: (physical size)

• Elephants are very large animals.
• Her apartment is quite large.
• Our neighbors have a very large dog.

huge: (very big; physical size or more general)

• Shanghai, New York, and Mexico City are all huge cities.
• Jupiter is a huge planet.
• I have a huge headache. I need to lie down.

More Interesting Big

If you want to use a more interesting word than big or large, you have lots of options in English. Here are the most common ones.

Enormous usually refers to size, meaning very big, but it’s also used very generally. The noun form is enormity.

• The Sahara is an enormous desert.
• We have an enormous problem on our hands.
• We’re just beginning to understand the enormity of this problem.

Tremendous is similar to enormous, and it’s usually used to refer to very big amounts (money, time, effort, etc.) It’s also used to mean very good.

• Jack spent a tremendous amount of money on his new car.
• This job will take a tremendous amount of time, so we need to get started.
• Modernizing the subway system is a tremendous project.

Immense means extremely big, and it’s usually used to refer to the scale or scope of something. Immensity is the noun form.

• The universe is immense; human beings cannot comprehend its immensity.
• Our costs have been immense this quarter.
• Sandra is an immensely talented surgeon.

Massive means very big in the sense of physical material or presence. It comes from the noun mass, which is the amount of matter in something. Massive has the sense of very heavy, both literally and figuratively.

• The Hoover Dam is a massive dam on the border of Nevada and Arizona.
• There is a massive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
• A massive truck passed us on the highway.

Gigantic means very big and tall, as in a giant, a member of the legendary race of very big and very tall human-like creatures from legend. Since giants were bigger and taller than regular humans, gigantic has the sense of bigger or taller than the average size of something.

• There’s a gigantic pumpkin growing in our garden. It’s three times the size of the others.
• Tarantulas are gigantic spiders. Most other spiders are much smaller.
• That’s a gigantic piece of cake! I can’t eat all of that!

Vast means big in the sense of covering a lot of space or territory. It’s also used to refer to a very large supply of something.

• There are vast ice sheets covering Antarctica and Greenland.
• The taiga forests cover vast areas of the north.
• Vast oilfields were discovered in the Persian Gulf.

Bulky means big in the sense of awkward. If something is bulky, it may not be heavy, but it’s difficult to carry or fit somewhere because of its size or shape. It comes from the noun bulk.

• Everyone here wears bulky coats in the winter.
• Can you help me carry this? It’s too bulky for me to carry alone.
• This blanket is too bulky to fit in a drawer. Put it in the closet.

Hefty means big in the sense of heavy or difficult to lift because of size and weight. It comes from the noun heft.

• This couch is pretty hefty, so I need at least one other person to help me move it.
• Hey Bob, you’re getting a bit hefty! Time to go on a diet!
• I used to have a hefty unabridged dictionary, but I never use it anymore because I can look everything up online.

Casual Big

In everyday conversation, you may hear some of these expressions, all of which mean big.

Jumbo is thought to have originally referred to a large, clumsy person, but today it’s used to refer to big versions of things. Jumbo is most often used as part of a compound noun; you typically don’t say that *something is jumbo, and instead you’d say jumbo jet, jumbo television, jumbo loan, etc.

A mammoth is an extinct hairy elephant, a very big animal. So mammoth is often used to mean that something is very big. Like jumbo, you don’t usually say that *something is mammoth, and instead use it right before a noun.

• Bill caught a mammoth fish this weekend.
• My parents just put in a mammoth pool in their backyard.
• Our neighbors have a mammoth dog. It’s huge!

Monster is used a lot like jumbo or mammoth, right before a noun.

• We bought a monster sandwich for our Super Bowl party. It was big enough for twelve people!
• There’s a monster hurricane coming, so we need to evacuate the island.
• Surfers are always hoping for a monster wave.

Whopping is a very casual word meaning big. It’s related to the noun whopper, describing something unbelievably big. Whopper is usually used in the construction a whopper of a/an X.

• Don tells whopping lies. Don’t believe a word he says.
• We saw a whopping snake in our garden.
• The neighbors threw a whopper of a party, so we hardly slept.

Humongous is a casual adjective meaning really big. It’s an informal word that probably is a combination of huge and monstrous. It’s fine for friendly conversation, but it sounds much too informal for writing or formal conversation. (It’s pronounced hyoo-mun-gus if you’ve never heard it before.)

• We saw a humongous whale when we were out sailing.
• I bought a humongous bag of popcorn at the movies.
• There’s a humongous mosquito on your arm!

More Specific Big

If you want to be more precise and nuanced when you want to describe something big, you can use one of these.

Substantial comes from substance, which basically means thing, matter, stuff. If something is substantial, it is big enough (has enough stuff) to be noticed or to make a difference.

• I haven’t been able to save a substantial amount of money, only a little bit.
• Sarah has been practicing Spanish a lot lately, and she’s made substantial progress.
• Climate scientists have reported substantial warming in many parts of the world.

Extensive comes from extent, meaning the reach or distance of something. If something is extensive, it is big in the sense of far-reaching, or covering a lot of area.

• The tornado caused extensive damage in the town. Every building was damaged.
• Many Americans feel that there should be extensive changes in the healthcare system, not just small changes.
• There were extensive power outages after the thunderstorm. Only a quarter of the area had electricity.

Expansive is similar to extensive, but it comes from expand, meaning to get bigger or wider, or to spread. If something is expansive, it is big and wide.

• Our hotel room has expansive views of the ocean. You can see so much water!
• There was an expansive press conference, where reporters asked all sorts of questions about different topics.
• Pollution is causing expansive problems in nearly every country. It affects everything.

Sizable is of course related to size. If something is sizable, it is big in the sense of having a great size, or being big enough to be noticed.

• There has been a sizable decrease in crime in the city over the past several years.
• Climate change has already caused sizable changes in the way people live in many places.
• There is a sizable wealth gap in this country.

Considerable comes from the verb consider. If something is considerable, it is big enough to notice, to be taken into account or to be measured.

• Rob has been on a diet for a month and has already lost a considerable amount of weight.
• There are considerable differences among the many forms of English spoken around the world.
• We drove all day, so we’ve covered a considerable distance.

Hulking comes from the noun hulk, which is a very large and usually awkward object. Old ships that can’t sail any more are called hulks, and that’s the sense of hulking: too big to be useful or to move easily, not graceful.

• We could see the hulking silhouette of the abandoned hotel on the hillside.
• A hulking guard stood in front of the gate.
• There’s a hulking ship in the harbor. Everything around it looks tiny.

Ponderous comes from a Latin word meaning weight. If something is ponderous, it is big in the sense of being too heavy. Ponderous can also be used to describe a writing or speaking style to is too heavy or complicated to be enjoyed or understood.

• I’m not looking forward to sitting through this ponderous lecture.
• The author is known for writing ponderous articles with too much information presented in an unnecessarily complex way.
• Elephants move with ponderous steps.

Boundless means big in the sense of without bounds – without end, limit, borders.

• Children and puppies have boundless energy. They never get tired!
• In parts of the Midwest you can see boundless fields stretching away to the horizon.
• I love looking up at the boundless night sky. It goes on forever.

Big Inside

Several big words refer to the interior or inside of something.

Roomy comes from room, and it simply means that there’s a lot of room inside something.

• Jill’s new car is nice and roomy. Six people can fit comfortably.
• Our apartment isn’t very roomy, so we don’t have a lot of guests.
• Sam cooks a lot, so he wants a house with a roomy kitchen.

Spacious comes from space, so if something is spacious, it has a big interior space. It’s similar to roomy, but more general in that roomy is typically used for rooms or similar spaces, while spacious can be used more generally.

• My closet isn’t very spacious, so I can’t store a lot of clothes in it.
• Airplane hangars are very spacious buildings.
• Mary has a spacious heart. She likes everyone, and is always compassionate.

Ample means enough, so if something is ample, it is big enough, or there’s a big enough supply of it.

• We have ample groceries for the week.
• The students had ample time to complete their research.
• The residents were given ample warning to leave their homes before the hurricane.

Voluminous means big in the sense of holding a large volume of something, or being made of a large volume of something.

• I have a voluminous stack of papers on my desk that I need to read.
• There is voluminous literature on the subject of the French revolution.
• She wore a voluminous dress to the wedding.

Capacious comes from the noun capacity, and it’s similar to roomy or spacious. If something is capacious, it has a large capacity, meaning it’s big enough to carry a lot.

• My grandmother always carried a capacious handbag where she carried everything.
• If you’re moving, you need to have lots of capacious boxes to store your belongings.
• Children have capacious imaginations.

Copious means big in the sense of a large supply or quantity.

• We all took copious notes during the lecture.
• Nick and his friends drank copious amounts of alcohol at the party, so it’s no wonder they all felt terrible the next day.
• If you want to make a strong argument, you need to supply copious reasoning.

Really Big and Tall

There are a few adjectives that mean big in the sense of very tall.

Looming comes from the verb loom (over), which means to rise very tall in front of you. It can have a bit of a sense of a threat, something that causes you to feel fear.

• As we drove across the plain, the looming mountains grew bigger and bigger.
• Looming environmental threats are forcing us to think of new energy sources.
• The bear stood on its hind legs and loomed over us.

Towering is similar to loom, as in, of course, a tower. It can be used to refer to someone or something that has a very big influence or impact, and it sounds less threatening or fear-inspiring than looming.

• The towering trees cast a long shadow across the field.
• Towering thunderclouds approached before the storm hit.
• This director has been a towering presence in American cinema.

Colossal comes from colossus, as in the Colossus of Rhodes, the giant statue that stood over a harbor in ancient Greece, big enough for ships to sail between his legs. It means something very big, very visible, or very obvious.

• The movie was a colossal failure. It was very expensive, but everyone thought it was terrible.
• I made a colossal mistake by confiding in her. She told everyone after promising she’d keep my secret.
• The new regulations are causing colossal amounts of confusion.

Monumental is similar to colossal. It’s from the word monument, which is of course a very big and visible structure. It means big in the sense of very memorable, very visible, very obvious.

• The party was a monumental success. Everyone is still talking about it.
• It was a monumentally bad decision to come to this restaurant. It’s awful.
• This meeting has been a monumental waste of time. No one came prepared.

Titanic comes from the noun titan, the ancient gods of Greek mythology. Titanic means very big in a very similar way to gigantic, but it’s less common. The Titanic was of course the very large ship that sank after hitting an iceberg.

• There are many titanic buildings in Manhattan.
• The team put forth a titanic effort to finish the new product on time.
• King Kong is the name of a titanic ape from a well known movie.

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