Wide vs. Big — What's the Difference?
Difference Between Wide and Big
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Compare with Definitions
Wide
Of great or more than average width
A wide road
Big
Of considerable size or extent
Big staff cuts
Big buildings
Her big hazel eyes
Wide
Including a great variety of people or things
A wide range of opinion
His wide circle of friends
Big
Of considerable importance or seriousness
It's a big decision
His biggest problem is money
He made a big mistake
Wide
At a considerable or specified distance from an intended point or target
The ball was wide of the leg stump
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Big
Generous
‘I'm inclined to take pity on you.’ ‘That's big of you!’
Wide
To the full extent
His eyes opened wide
Big
Praise or recommend something highly
The record's been on the streets a while now, but it's still worth bigging up
Wide
Far from a particular or intended point or target
His final touchline conversion drifted wide
Big
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
Wide
A ball that is judged to be too wide of the stumps for the batsman to play, for which an extra is awarded to the batting side.
Big
Of considerable size, number, quantity, magnitude, or extent; large.
Wide
Having a specified extent from side to side
A ribbon two inches wide.
Big
Having great strength or force
A big wind.
In a big rage.
Wide
Extending over a great distance from side to side; broad
A wide road.
A wide necktie.
Big
Of great significance; momentous
A big decision.
A big victory.
Wide
Having great extent or range; including much or many
A wide selection.
Granting wide powers.
Wide variations.
Big
Mature or grown-up
Big enough to take the bus by herself.
Wide
Fully open or extended
Look with wide eyes.
Big
Older or eldest. Used especially of a sibling
My big brother is leaving for college next week.
Wide
To the side of or at a distance from a given boundary, limit, or goal
A shot that was wide of the target.
Big
Filled up; brimming over
Felt big with love.
Wide
(Baseball) Outside.
Big
Bountiful; generous
Had a big heart.
Wide
(Sports) Being toward or near one of the side boundaries of a playing area, such as a sideline on a football field.
Big
Pregnant
Big with child.
Wide
Deviating or straying from something expected or specified
A remark that was wide of the truth.
Big
Having or exercising considerable authority, control, or influence
A big official.
A big chief.
Wide
(Linguistics) Lax.
Big
Conspicuous in position, wealth, or importance; prominent
A big figure in the peace movement.
Wide
Over a great distance; extensively
Traveled far and wide.
Big
Loud and firm; resounding
A big voice.
Wide
To the full extent; completely.
Big
(Informal) Widely liked, used, or practiced; popular
"The Minneapolis indie-rock band was big in the blogosphere, beloved by hipsters, and unknown to pretty much everyone else" (Robert Levine).
Wide
To the side of or at a distance from a given boundary, limit, or goal.
Big
(Informal) Self-important; cocky
You're too big for your own good.
Wide
(Sports) Toward or near one of the sides of a playing area
Ran wide to catch a pass.
Big
In a pretentious or boastful way
Talked big about the new job.
Wide
A ball bowled outside of the batsman's reach, counting as a run for the batting team in cricket.
Big
With considerable success
Made it big with their recent best-selling album.
Wide
Having a large physical extent from side to side.
We walked down a wide corridor.
Big
In a thorough or unmistakable way; emphatically
Failed big at the box office.
Wide
Large in scope.
The inquiry had a wide remit.
Big
Of great size, large.
Elephants are big animals, and they eat a lot.
Wide
(sports) Operating at the side of the playing area.
That team needs a decent wide player.
Big
(informal) Fat.
Gosh, she is big!
Wide
On one side or the other of the mark; too far sideways from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.
Big
Large with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce.
She was big with child.
Wide
Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the organs in the mouth.
Big
(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.
Wide
Vast, great in extent, extensive.
The wide, lifeless expanse.
Big
(informal) Adult; (of a child) older.
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.
Wide
(obsolete) Located some distance away; distant, far.
Big
Old, mature. Used to imply that somebody is too old for something, or acting immaturely.
Wide
(obsolete) Far from truth, propriety, necessity, etc.
Big
.informal 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.
Wide
(computing) Of or supporting a greater range of text characters than can fit into the traditional 8-bit representation.
A wide character; a wide stream
Big
(informal) Important or significant.
What's so big about that? I do it all the time.
Wide
Antagonistic, provocative.
Big
Popular.
That style is very big right now in Europe, especially among teenagers.
Wide
Extensively
He travelled far and wide.
Big
(of a city) Populous.
Wide
Completely
He was wide awake.
Big
(informal) Used as an intensifier, especially of negative-valence nouns
You are a big liar.
Why are you in such a big hurry?
Wide
Away from or to one side of a given goal
The arrow fell wide of the mark.
A few shots were fired but they all went wide.
Big
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)
Wide
So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.
Big
Enthusiastic (about).
I'm not big on the idea, but if you want to go ahead with it, I won't stop you.
Wide
(cricket) A ball that passes so far from the batsman that the umpire deems it unplayable; the arm signal used by an umpire to signal a wide; the extra run added to the batting side's score
Big
In a loud manner.
Wide
Having considerable distance or extent between the sides; spacious across; much extended in a direction at right angles to that of length; not narrow; broad; as, wide cloth; a wide table; a wide highway; a wide bed; a wide hall or entry.
The chambers and the stables weren wyde.
Wide is the gate . . . that leadeth to destruction.
Big
In a boasting manner.
He's always talking big, but he never delivers.
Wide
Having a great extent every way; extended; spacious; broad; vast; extensive; as, a wide plain; the wide ocean; a wide difference.
For sceptered cynics earth were far too wide a den.
When the wide bloom, on earth that lies,Seems of a brighter world than ours.
Big
In a large amount or to a large extent.
He won big betting on the croquet championship.
Wide
Of large scope; comprehensive; liberal; broad; as, wide views; a wide understanding.
Men of strongest head and widest culture.
Big
On a large scale, expansively.
You've got to think big to succeed at Amalgamated Plumbing.
Wide
Of a certain measure between the sides; measuring in a direction at right angles to that of length; as, a table three feet wide.
Big
Hard.
He hit him big and the guy just crumpled.
Wide
Remote; distant; far.
The contrary being so wide from the truth of Scripture and the attributes of God.
Big
An important or powerful person; a celebrity; a big name.
Wide
Far from truth, from propriety, from necessity, or the like.
It is far wide that the people have such judgments.
How wide is all this long pretense !
Big
(in the plural) The big leagues, big time.
Wide
On one side or the other of the mark; too far side-wise from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.
Surely he shoots wide on the bow hand.
I was but two bows wide.
Big
(university slang) A initiated member of a sorority who acts as a mentor to a new member (the little).
Wide
Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the mouth organs; - opposed to primary as used by Mr. Bell, and to narrow as used by Mr. Sweet. The effect, as explained by Mr. Bell, is due to the relaxation or tension of the pharynx; as explained by Mr. Sweet and others, it is due to the action of the tongue. The wide of ē (ēve) is ĭ (ĭll); of ā (āte) is ĕ (ĕnd), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, 13-15.
Big
(BDSM) The participant in ageplay who acts out the older role.
Wide
Having or showing a wide difference between the highest and lowest price, amount of supply, etc.; as, a wide opening; wide prices, where the prices bid and asked differ by several points.
Big
One or more kinds of barley, especially six-rowed barley.
Wide
To a distance; far; widely; to a great distance or extent; as, his fame was spread wide.
[I] went wyde in this world, wonders to hear.
Big
To inhabit; occupy.
Wide
So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.
Big
To locate oneself.
Wide
So as to be or strike far from, or on one side of, an object or purpose; aside; astray.
Big
To build; erect; fashion.
Wide
That which is wide; wide space; width; extent.
Big
To dwell; have a dwelling.
Wide
That which goes wide, or to one side of the mark.
Big
Having largeness of size; of much bulk or magnitude; of great size; large.
Wide
Having great (or a certain) extent from one side to the other;
Wide roads
A wide necktie
Wide margins
Three feet wide
A river two miles broad
Broad shoulders
A broad river
Big
Great with young; pregnant; swelling; ready to give birth or produce; - often figuratively.
[Day] big with the fate of Cato and of Rome.
Wide
Broad in scope or content;
Across-the-board pay increases
An all-embracing definition
Blanket sanctions against human-rights violators
An invention with broad applications
A panoptic study of Soviet nationality
Granted him wide powers
Big
Having greatness, fullness, importance, inflation, distention, etc., whether in a good or a bad sense; as, a big heart; a big voice; big looks; to look big. As applied to looks, it indicates haughtiness or pride.
God hath not in heaven a bigger argument.
I talked big to them at first.
Wide
(used of eyes) fully open or extended;
Listened in round-eyed wonder
Stared with wide eyes
Big
Barley, especially the hardy four-rowed kind.
"Bear interchanges in local use, now with barley, now with bigg."
Wide
Very large in expanse or scope;
A broad lawn
The wide plains
A spacious view
Spacious skies
Big
To build.
Wide
Great in degree;
Won by a wide margin
Big
Above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent;
A large city
Set out for the big city
A large sum
A big (or large) barn
A large family
Big businesses
A big expenditure
A large number of newspapers
A big group of scientists
Large areas of the world
Wide
Great in range or scope;
An extended vocabulary
Surgeons with extended experience
Extensive examples of picture writing
Suffered extensive damage
A wide selection
Big
Significant;
Graduation was a big day in his life
Wide
Having ample fabric;
The current taste for wide trousers
A full skirt
Big
Of very great significance;
Deciding to drop the atom bomb was a very big decision
A momentous event
Wide
Not on target;
The kick was wide
The arrow was wide of the mark
A claim that was wide of the truth
Big
Conspicuous in position or importance;
A big figure in the movement
Big man on campus
He's very large in financial circles
A prominent citizen
Wide
With or by a broad space;
Stand with legs wide apart
Ran wide around left end
Big
Very intense;
A bad headache
In a big rage
Had a big (or bad) shock
A bad earthquake
A bad storm
Wide
To the fullest extent possible;
Open your eyes wide
With the throttle wide open
Big
Loud and firm;
A big voice
Big bold piano sounds
Wide
Far from the intended target;
The arrow went wide of the mark
A bullet went astray and killed a bystander
Big
Prodigious;
Big spender
Big eater
Heavy investor
Wide
To or over a great extent or range; far;
Wandered wide through many lands
He traveled widely
Big
(of animals) fully developed;
An adult animal
A grown woman
Big
Marked by intense physical force;
A big wind
Big
Feeling self-importance;
Too big for his britches
Had a swelled head
He was swelled with pride
Big
Older brother or sister;
Big sister
Big
Exhibiting self-importance;
Big talk
Big
Generous and understanding and tolerant;
A heart big enough to hold no grudges
That's very big of you to be so forgiving
A large and generous spirit
A large heart
Magnanimous toward his enemies
Big
Given or giving freely;
Was a big tipper
The bounteous goodness of God
Bountiful compliments
A freehanded host
A handsome allowance
Saturday's child is loving and giving
A liberal backer of the arts
A munificent gift
Her fond and openhanded grandfather
Big
In an advanced stage of pregnancy;
Was big with child
Was great with child
Big
Extremely well;
His performance went over big
Big
In a boastful manner;
He talked big all evening
Big
On a grand scale;
Think big
Big
In a major way;
The play failed big at the box office
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