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Glite Dictionary
to talk big

to talk big

8 7.8
To say you are more important or successful than you really are
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
translation icon : hablar en grande
  • David Haye had the proper assessment of Chisora—a bully who talked big but couldn't back it up.
  • always talk big
  • man who talked big

People will talk big on YouTube and they'll say, oh, hey, well, I'm doing a rap, so why don't you do a rap response to me?

Examples

  • Then Toney got serious, like he was finished talking big.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • You talk big for a man who screwed another man back in Atlanta.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • A lot easier to talk big when you got a judge behind you.

    The Virginian (2014)

  • We're talking big money here.

    Paternity (1981)

  • Any shenanigans could blow this whole deal, and we're talking big dollars.

    The Wedding Pact (2014)

  • We're talking big bucks.

    Java Heat (2013)

  • Haye talks big but can't back it up on fight night.

    Blog text (11)

  • He always talks big about his achievements, but he rarely delivers on his promises.

  • When she talks big about her skills, it's usually just to impress people.

  • Despite his tendency to talk big, he often struggles to meet his own expectations.

Synonyms

to brag
vsto talk big
191 2.7

To talk in a proud way about yourself or what you have

tends to include exaggeration more often than everyday self praise
to toot your own horn
vsto talk big
  • Informal
7 7.5

To talk proudly about things you have done

is more about exaggerated personal claims rather than public announcement
to oversell
vsto talk big
7 4.9

Make something seem better than it really is

is more about praising oneself rather than promoting things
to crow about
vsto talk big
6 7.9

To brag in a way that annoys other people

is more focused on exaggeration for self benefit rather than annoyance
to puff
vsto talk big
4 7.0

To act or speak in a proud, boastful way

is more about loud exaggeration and self praise than mere self importance
to blow one's own trumpet
vsto talk big
  • UK
1 7.8

To talk proudly about your own abilities or achievements

is less tied to public attention and more about exaggeration
to vaunt
vsto talk big
  • Archaic
1 8.9

To talk proudly about your achievements to show off

is more about informal exaggeration rather than formal showiness
to brag excessively
vsto talk big
6.2

To talk too proudly about yourself or what you have done

is less extreme in exaggeration but still involves self praise
to come it strong
vsto talk big
  • UK
9.9

Speak or act in a strong, confident way, often bragging

focuses on self praise with exaggeration rather than mere forceful style
to mog
vsto talk big
  • Slang
9.9

To brag about what you have done

is less about style and more about exaggerated self claims

Antonyms

to understate
18 5.2

To make something seem smaller or less important than it really is

How Boastful

to brag
191 2.7
to talk big
  • Informal
8 7.8

Surface Forms

talk big infinitive
talked big past
talked big past participle
talking big present participle
talks big third person singular

Morphology

talk + big

The meaning 'to boast' is directly related to combining 'talk' (to speak) with 'big' (in a self-important or exaggerated way), so a learner who grasps the adverbial sense of 'big' can infer the idiom. However, the collocational use and the shift of 'big' to mean 'boastfully' is somewhat idiomatic and may not be immediately predictable for a B1 learner without exposure, making the expression only partly transparent.

Etymology

Talk big comes from the picture of someone making their talk sound big, turning small facts into big stories to impress others. That's why it means 'to boast' or 'to brag'.