big
(=tall)
[person, building, tree] grand (e)
a big house une grande maison
He's a big guy. C'est un grand gaillard.
[country, city] grand (e)
→ Australia's a big country.
(in bulk, amount)
[parcel, book, car] gros (se)
a big car une grosse voiture
→ The car was too big to fit into our garage.
(=fat)
[person] gros (se)
→ Her husband was a big man.
[increase, decrease] grand (e)
→ There has been a big increase in unemployment.
[problem, mistake] sérieux (-euse) , grave
→ The biggest problem is unemployment.
in a big way *
(=big time) de manière spectaculaire
→ the internet bubble has burst in a big way
to fall for sb in a big way tomber fou (folle) amoureux (-euse) de qn
to do things in a big way * faire les choses en grand
to take off in a big way *
(=become popular) démarrer en fanfare, démarrer très fort
→ The hobby took off in a big way
[older, brother, sister] grand (e)
my big brother mon grand frère
her big sister sa grande sœur
→ Chris admired his big brother.
(=important) important (e)
→ Their father was very big in the army.
to have big ideas voir grand
→ He's got a lot of big ideas about how to change the system.
big words *
(=complicated language) mots savants
→ They don't use big words. They are plain talkers
→ They use a lot of big words.
to make it big * avoir un succès fou
Big Apple
n
the Big Apple * New York, la ville de New York
→ The main attractions of the Big Apple are well documented.
big band
modif
[music, sound] de big band
[era] des big bands
Big Bang
n
the Big Bang le big bang
big bang theory , Big Bang theory
n théorie f du big bang
big business
n
(=big companies) les grandes entreprises fpl
les grandes firmes fpl
→ Big business will never let petty nationalism get in the way of a good deal.
to be big business
(=profitable activity) être un secteur lucratif
→ Britain's railways are big business ...
→ Sport has become big business.
big cat
n (lion, tiger etc)
grand félin m , fauve m
big cheese
n
* gros bonnet m
big city
n
the big city (as place of opportunity)
la grande ville
→ ... a country girl who dreams of the big city and bright lights.
big deal
(=important thing) grosse affaire f
→ I felt the pressure on me, winning was such a big deal for the whole family ...
it's no big deal
(=not difficult) ce n'est pas la mer à boire
to make a big deal of sth faire toute une affaire de qch
→ The Joneses make a big deal out of being `different'.
excl
(=so what) et après!
→ `You'll miss The Brady Bunch.' -- `Big deal.'
big dipper
n montagnes fpl russes
big end
n
[+car] tête f de bielle
big fish
n
*
(=important person) gros poisson m
→ The four men arrested were described as really big fish by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.
big game
n gros gibier m
→ She went hunting big game in Africa.
big head , bighead
n
*
(=conceited person) crâneur (-euse) m/f
→ He is such a big-head. He always seems to say "Look at me..."
big-headed , bigheaded
adj
* crâneur (-euse)
→ a bigheaded journalist
to be bigheaded crâner
→ I can't stand Mark, he's so bigheaded.
big-hearted
adj
to be big-hearted avoir bon cœur
Big Issue
n (British)
(=magazine) ~au Royaume-Uni, journal vendu dans la rue par des sans-abris
big mouth
n
*
(=person) grande gueule f
big name
n
(=famous person) grand nom m
→ ... all the big names in rock and pop.
→ I'm sure all the big names will come to the club.
big night
n
(=important evening) soirée f mémorable
→ On the big night, Howard turned up in well-tailored suit and stretch limo to take her to one of Boston's best restaurants.
→ Liz managed a few words: `I am just glad to be here, to support Hugh on his big night
→ That was a big night for me playing my first game at that level.
big noise
n (British)
*
(=big shot) grand ponte * m
big screen
n
(=cinema)
the big screen le grand écran
→ Children's TV series hits the big screen.
modif
the big screen version la version grand écran
big shot
n
* grand ponte * m
→ He's a big shot in Chilean politics.
big-ticket
modif
* (US)
big-ticket item, big-ticket purchase gros achat m
→ Supercomputers are big-ticket items.
big time , big-time
*
adj
[football, investment] de première catégorie f
→ He took a long time to settle in to big-time football.
→ ... a big-time investment banker.
n
to hit the big time percer
→ Matsuoka is the first player from Japan to really hit the tennis big time ...
→ He hit the big time with films such as Ghost and Dirty Dancing.
adv (US) de manière spectaculaire
→ They screwed things up big time ...
→ America lost big-time.
big toe
n gros orteil m
→ He stubbed his big toe.
big top
n
[+circus] grand chapiteau m
big wheel
n
*
(=important person)
a big wheel une huile *
→ Sotheby's Michel Strauss, a big wheel in the art world