huge

[ hyoojor, often, yooj ]

adjective

, hug·er, hug·est.

1. extraordinarily large in bulk, quantity, or extent:

   a huge ship; a huge portion of ice cream.

   Synonyms: bulky, stupendous, vast, colossal, gigantic, mammoth

   Antonyms: diminutive, tiny, small

2. of unbounded extent, scope, or character; limitless:

   the huge genius of Mozart.

3. Slang. very important, successful, popular, etc.:

   The show is huge in Britain.

huge

/ hjuːdʒ /

adjective

1. extremely large in size, amount, or scope Archaic formhugeous

Pronunciation Note

See human.

Derived Forms

• ˈhugeness, noun

Other Words From

• hugely adverb
• hugeness noun
• over·huge adjective
• over·hugely adverb
• over·hugeness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of huge¹

First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English huge, hoge from Old French ahuge, ahoge “enormous,” equivalent to a- a- ⁵ + hoge “height” from Germanic; compare Old Norse haugr “hill” ( high )

Word History and Origins

Origin of huge¹

C13: from Old French ahuge, of uncertain origin

Synonym Study

Huge, enormous, immense, tremendous imply great magnitude. Huge implies massiveness, bulkiness, or even shapelessness: a huge mass of rock; a huge collection of antiques. Enormous, literally out of the norm, applies to what exceeds in extent, magnitude, or degree, a norm or standard: an enormous iceberg. Tremendous, in informal use, applies to anything so huge as to be astonishing or to inspire awe: a tremendous amount of equipment. Immense, literally not measurable, is particularly applicable to what is exceedingly great, without reference to a standard: immense buildings. All are used figuratively: a huge success; enormous curiosity; tremendous effort; immense joy.

Example Sentences

The delays also disrupted vessel replacement plans, with CalMac now under huge pressure to maintain services with an ageing and increasingly unreliable fleet.

From BBC

Gary: Tank Commander - his sitcom about the lives of an Army corporal and his three comrades after they return from deployments abroad - was a huge hit.

From BBC

"Answering this question is a huge step toward understanding how we can make the most robust and productive crops possible in the face of climate change and a growing global population."

From Science Daily

"As we get a better grasp on identifying and measuring these diverse circulating molecules in our bodies and how they're metabolized, we could make huge strides in personalizing medicine accordingly," says Metallo.

From Science Daily

And if this replaced animal protein it could also have huge emission and water benefits.

From Salon

Related Words

• colossal
• enormous
• extensive
• gargantuan
• giant
• gigantic
• great
• humongous
• immense
• magnificent
• mammoth
• massive
• monstrous
• monumental
• towering
• tremendous
• vast