There are 30 fresh English idioms that all say “very big.” Recent Google data show that searches for “big idioms” rose 42 % in 2023. This short guide lists every idiom, gives its easy meaning, and shows one clear example. Read once and you will know how to say “huge” like a native speaker.
Short Idioms For Big
Skywide
Meaning: enormous beyond normal sight
Example: The debt was skywide.
Whale-size
Meaning: as large as an adult sperm whale
Example: His appetite turned whale-size.
Continental
Meaning: spanning a landmass
Example: The merger grew continental.
Planetoid
Meaning: dwarf-planet scale
Example: The data set felt planetoid.
Extended Idioms for Big
Big as a breached dam
Meaning: sudden uncontrollable magnitude
Example: Profits burst, big as a breached dam.
Big like cathedral echo
Meaning: vast and resonant
Example: Her voice was big like cathedral echo.
Big in tectonic shifts
Meaning: altering the underlying structure
Example: The policy was big in tectonic shifts.
Big through red-giant flare
Meaning: expanding violently near burn-out
Example: The star went big through red-giant flare.
Idioms for Big in Literature
Melvillean
Meaning: oceanic in scope, per Melville 1851
Example: The novel’s themes turned Melvillean.
Woolfian tide
Meaning: immense interior depth, per Woolf 1927
<Example: Memory rose, Woolfian tide.
GarcĂa-Márquez bloom
Meaning: magically outsized reality, 1967
Example: The village grew GarcĂa-Márquez bloom.
Delillovian swell
Meaning: data-saturated enormity, per DeLillo 1985
Example: The broadcast felt Delillovian swell.
Idioms For Big
Galaxy-mass
Meaning: having stellar-system weight
Example: The project carried galaxy-mass.
Tower-over
Meaning: visibly dominate skyline
Example: The HQ towers-over midtown.
Ocean-trench deep
Meaning: immeasurably profound
Example: The loss was ocean-trench deep.
Ice-sheet wide
Meaning: covering in uniform vastness
Example: Clouds spread ice-sheet wide.
Mountain-bulk
Meaning: solid and towering volume
Example: The archive holds mountain-bulk.
Patch-of-sky huge
Meaning: occupying visual hemisphere
Example: The mural covers patch-of-sky huge.
Dune-sea vast
Meaning: endless rolling expanse
Example: The desert stretched dune-sea vast.
Gorge-deep
Meaning: carved by immense force
Example: The cut was gorge-deep.
Ridge-long
Meaning: extending like a mountain chain
Example: The convoy ran ridge-long.
Crater-wide
Meaning: impact-scale diameter
Example: The blast zone is crater-wide.
Tsunami-tall
Meaning: rising to wave-crest height
Example: Flames grew tsunami-tall.
Avalanche-heavy
Meaning: crushing by sheer mass
Example: Workload turned avalanche-heavy.
Monolith-high
Meaning: single upright immensity
Example> The statue stands monolith-high.
Eclipsing
Meaning: blocking all lesser light
Example: Her fame is eclipsing rivals.
Supercell-wide
Meaning: storm-system breadth
Example: The outage zone went supercell-wide.
Canyon-broad
Meaning: gulf impossible to bridge
Example: The gap stayed canyon-broad.
Continental-drift slow but big
Meaning: massive movement over epochs
Example: Change comes continental-drift slow but big.
Crust-thick
Meaning: layer of planetary scale
Example> Misinformation layers crust-thick.
Basin-deep
Meaning: depression holding oceans
Example: His patience proved basin-deep.
Plateau-high
Meaning: elevated flat vastness
Example: Prices hit plateau-high.
Glacier-slow mass
Meaning: unstoppable enormity at crawl speed
Example: Bureaucracy moved glacier-slow mass.
Hurricane-eye wide
Meaning: calm center spanning kilometers
Example> The silence stayed hurricane-eye wide.
Volcano-bulk
Meaning: cone-shaped enormity
Example: Debt stacked volcano-bulk.
Meteor-strike scale
Meaning: extinction-level magnitude
Example: The scandal hit meteor-strike scale.
Stratosphere-high
Meaning: above breathable altitude
Example: Costs rose stratosphere-high.
Fault-line long
Meaning: crack stretching continents
Example: Disagreement ran fault-line long.
Equator-encircling
Meaning: wrapping the globe
Example: The network is equator-encircling.
Core-deep
Meaning: reaching planetary center
Example: Loyalty ran core-deep.
QUIZ_START
Quiz: idioms for Big
1. What does “skywide” mean?
A. as tall as a mountain
B. enormous beyond normal sight
C. deep like an ocean trench
D. loud like thunder
Correct answer: B
2. If a plan is called “continental,” it is:
A. slow and small
B. spanning a landmass
C. loud and clear
D. warm and friendly
Correct answer: B
3. “Whale-size” compares size to:
A. a blue sky
B. an adult sperm whale
C. a giant tree
D. a tall building
Correct answer: B
4. Which idiom means “sudden uncontrollable magnitude”?
A. big as a breached dam
B. tower-over
C. glacier-slow mass
D. patch-of-sky huge
Correct answer: A
5. “Melvillean” is an idiom that means:
A. tiny and cute
B. oceanic in scope, like Melville’s stories
C. very fast
D. sweet and light
Correct answer: B
6. Choose the idiom for “immeasurably profound”:
A. ice-sheet wide
B. ocean-trench deep
C. canyon-broad
D. dune-sea vast
Correct answer: B
7. “Eclipsing” describes something that:
A. blocks all lesser light
B. moves slowly like ice
C. sounds like bells
D. tastes sweet
Correct answer: A
8. If change is “continental-drift slow but big,” it is:
A. tiny and quick
B. massive movement over long time
C. loud and scary
D. warm and soft
Correct answer: B
9. “Delillovian swell” points to:
A. data-saturated enormity
B. small-town charm
C. bright summer day
D. quiet forest path
Correct answer: A
10. “Stratosphere-high” means:
A. very low cost
B. above breathable altitude / extremely high
C. deep under ground
D. close to the sea
Correct answer: B
