big time
161
4.1
- noun
- /bɪɡ taɪm/
- Informal
:
estrellato
- "How can a girl from Canada break into the big time?
So you went from not that to the big time.
- So you went from not that to the big time.
Examples
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Like I know some people who are, you know, big time celebrities.
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Another season like that, I'll move you up to the big time.
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And a year after that, I went to the big time New York, an amazing magazine called Inside Sports got started up.
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We finally hit the big time.
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I've been offered a shot at the big time.
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Won't forget you when I hit the big time.
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That's what big time players in big time situations do for their team.
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The record company has sent a big-time manager here to try and talk you into replacing me.
Fiction book (2000) -
The most obvious of these include big-time sports programs at some of the most prestigious universities in the nation.
Academic text (2011) -
After years of hard work, she finally reached the big time and became a renowned actress.
Synonyms
81
3.4
The highest level of professional sport where the best players play
51
3.0
The highest level of sports competition, like the major leagues in baseball
31
5.8
The highest point of success or achievement
5
4.8
A state of being extremely famous and successful, often as an actor, singer, or athlete
1
5.6
The highest level of success in a job or field
At the highest point of success or popularity for someone
Antonyms
How Successful
- Informal
161
4.1
∞
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The element 'big' clearly signals largeness or importance, so a B1 learner could infer a sense of magnitude, but 'time' (period/occasion) does not transparently contribute the specific meaning of high success or professional level. Because the phrase functions as an idiomatic intensifier ('made it big time' = achieved major success), learners may guess a general sense of 'to a great extent' but not reliably derive the specific notion of reaching the top without prior exposure.
Etymology
Big time may come from show business, where small acts hoped to play on the main, big stage to reach the biggest audience. So reaching the big time came to mean reaching the top or 'the highest level' in a career.