to make it big
18
4.1
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
triunfar
- I’m a talent agent and I’d like to help you make it big in show business and TV.
- dream of making it big
- want to make it big
- make it big in Hollywood
I'd like to make it big in Hollywood.
- I'd like to make it big in Hollywood.
- And you may not be, you know, making it big yet, but those little stories help keep you going.
Examples
-
Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to make it big in the modeling industry.
-
You could make it big.
-
I think we are really going to make it big with this one
-
Look, this is our chance to make it big.
-
Not every one of us is cut out to make it big.
Blog text (1) -
A young girl dreams big and then makes it big as a singer.
Fiction book (2001) -
I'd like to make it big in Hollywood.
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You're gonna make it big someday.
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She plays a girl who wants to make it big in the biz and I am the record mogul who makes it happen.
-
A young girl dreams big and then makes it big as a singer.
Synonyms
207
3.4
To become very successful in a job or career
103
7.3
To become very successful and well known in your job
42
3.2
To become very successful or important in a career
17
3.4
To have a big success people do not expect
12
3.7
Become successful or important in life
11
4.1
To get noticed for your work in an area, for example in art or business
9
5.1
To become very successful, often quickly
8
7.5
To find big success or money after trying hard
8
3.8
To feel very happy and successful after a big achievement
7
4.5
To become very successful and famous in your work
7
4.5
To get more successful and reach a higher social or economic position
6
3.1
Get to the top of a mountain or the highest point in your career
1
7.4
Do much better than expected
Get recognition and success in a field
To become successful and respected after being unknown or unsuccessful
Antonyms
How Successful
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is partially predictable: 'big' clearly signals something large/important, and native speakers often interpret 'make it' as 'succeed', so a learner who knows those uses can plausibly infer 'achieve great success'. However, the phrasal sense of 'make it' ('to succeed') is idiomatic and may not be obvious to a B1 learner from the literal meanings alone, so full comprehension often requires prior exposure.
Etymology
Make it big may come from the simple image of making something small become big, like a tiny shop growing into a large business or a singer moving onto a big stage. That picture explains why make it big now means 'to achieve great success'.