"big up" meaning in English

See big up in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: en-au-big up.ogg [Australia] Forms: big ups [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} big up (plural big ups)
  1. (slang, also big ups) Significant respect or acclaim. Tags: slang Synonyms (significant respect): props, respect Related terms: strength training, shout out, word up
    Sense id: en-big_up-en-noun-uiQGxQU7

Verb

Audio: en-au-big up.ogg [Australia] Forms: bigs up [present, singular, third-person], bigging up [participle, present], bigged up [participle, past], bigged up [past], big upped [participle, past, rare], big upped [past, rare]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*|past2=big upped|past2_qual=rare}} big up (third-person singular simple present bigs up, present participle bigging up, simple past and past participle bigged up or (rare) big upped)
  1. (transitive, informal) To increase one's muscle mass. Tags: informal, transitive Synonyms (increase one's muscle mass): build up, bulk up, pump iron, work out
    Sense id: en-big_up-en-verb-J6Ly6-wx Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English phrasal verbs with particle (up) Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 24 41 4 31 Disambiguation of English phrasal verbs with particle (up): 25 43 9 23 Disambiguation of "increase one's muscle mass": 93 5 1
  2. (informal) To become big. Tags: informal Synonyms (become big): enlarge
    Sense id: en-big_up-en-verb-sWe-VLsM Disambiguation of 'become big': 2 98 1
  3. (slang, transitive) To proclaim or exaggerate the importance of; to promote. Tags: slang, transitive Synonyms (exaggerate the importance of): overemphasize, overplay, play up, sell
    Sense id: en-big_up-en-verb-NPGtrgSJ Disambiguation of 'exaggerate the importance of': 6 3 91

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for big up meaning in English (5.3kB)

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bigs up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bigging up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bigged up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bigged up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "big upped",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "big upped",
      "tags": [
        "past",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "big upped",
        "past2_qual": "rare"
      },
      "expansion": "big up (third-person singular simple present bigs up, present participle bigging up, simple past and past participle bigged up or (rare) big upped)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "24 41 4 31",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "25 43 9 23",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English phrasal verbs with particle (up)",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2007, David Handler, The Bright Silver Star: A Berger and Mitry Mystery",
          "text": "She was bigged up—had a weight-lifter's rippling arms.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To increase one's muscle mass."
      ],
      "id": "en-big_up-en-verb-J6Ly6-wx",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, informal) To increase one's muscle mass."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "93 5 1",
          "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
          "word": "build up"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "93 5 1",
          "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
          "word": "bulk up"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "93 5 1",
          "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
          "word": "pump iron"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "93 5 1",
          "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
          "word": "work out"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 83",
          "text": "Relatively simple multicellular forms had already existed for a hundred million years when the Cambrian began: the explosion had a long fuse, and during this earlier fizzling life experimented with various ways to big up.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To become big."
      ],
      "id": "en-big_up-en-verb-sWe-VLsM",
      "links": [
        [
          "big",
          "big"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) To become big."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "2 98 1",
          "sense": "become big",
          "word": "enlarge"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I want to big up my bro on the mic.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "They're trying to big themselves up to be more than they are.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Apple announces new mobile phone, BBC Online, 9 January 2007",
          "text": "In a keynote speech, attended by over 2,000 people, Steve Jobs spent the first 10 minutes bigging up the move to Intel chips."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Daniel Tammet, Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing, page 162",
          "text": "Some say of me, \"There's Adrian again in the media, bigging himself up.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 August 24, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: the Cotswold Line”, in RAIL, number 964, page 61",
          "text": "Bradshaw bigs up local trades: \"Agricultural produce, good cider and perry (which require a little brandy to qualify them), wool, hops, and prime cattle, - the last being a splendid breed, white-faced, with soft reddish-brown coats. [...].\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To proclaim or exaggerate the importance of; to promote."
      ],
      "id": "en-big_up-en-verb-NPGtrgSJ",
      "links": [
        [
          "proclaim",
          "proclaim"
        ],
        [
          "exaggerate",
          "exaggerate"
        ],
        [
          "promote",
          "promote"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, transitive) To proclaim or exaggerate the importance of; to promote."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "6 3 91",
          "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
          "word": "overemphasize"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 3 91",
          "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
          "word": "overplay"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 3 91",
          "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
          "word": "play up"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "6 3 91",
          "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
          "word": "sell"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-big up.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg/En-au-big_up.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "big up"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "big ups",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "big up (plural big ups)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I want to give a big up to my bro on the mic."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Significant respect or acclaim."
      ],
      "id": "en-big_up-en-noun-uiQGxQU7",
      "links": [
        [
          "big ups",
          "big ups"
        ],
        [
          "respect",
          "respect"
        ],
        [
          "acclaim",
          "acclaim"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "also big ups",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, also big ups) Significant respect or acclaim."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "strength training"
        },
        {
          "word": "shout out"
        },
        {
          "word": "word up"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "sense": "significant respect",
          "word": "props"
        },
        {
          "sense": "significant respect",
          "word": "respect"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-big up.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg/En-au-big_up.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "big up"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (up)",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bigs up",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bigging up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bigged up",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "bigged up",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "big upped",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past",
        "rare"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "big upped",
      "tags": [
        "past",
        "rare"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*",
        "past2": "big upped",
        "past2_qual": "rare"
      },
      "expansion": "big up (third-person singular simple present bigs up, present participle bigging up, simple past and past participle bigged up or (rare) big upped)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2007, David Handler, The Bright Silver Star: A Berger and Mitry Mystery",
          "text": "She was bigged up—had a weight-lifter's rippling arms.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To increase one's muscle mass."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(transitive, informal) To increase one's muscle mass."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal",
        "transitive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English informal terms",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, page 83",
          "text": "Relatively simple multicellular forms had already existed for a hundred million years when the Cambrian began: the explosion had a long fuse, and during this earlier fizzling life experimented with various ways to big up.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To become big."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "big",
          "big"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(informal) To become big."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "informal"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English terms with usage examples",
        "English transitive verbs"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I want to big up my bro on the mic.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "text": "They're trying to big themselves up to be more than they are.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007, Apple announces new mobile phone, BBC Online, 9 January 2007",
          "text": "In a keynote speech, attended by over 2,000 people, Steve Jobs spent the first 10 minutes bigging up the move to Intel chips."
        },
        {
          "ref": "2017, Daniel Tammet, Every Word is a Bird We Teach to Sing, page 162",
          "text": "Some say of me, \"There's Adrian again in the media, bigging himself up.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2022 August 24, Stephen Roberts, “Bradshaw's Britain: the Cotswold Line”, in RAIL, number 964, page 61",
          "text": "Bradshaw bigs up local trades: \"Agricultural produce, good cider and perry (which require a little brandy to qualify them), wool, hops, and prime cattle, - the last being a splendid breed, white-faced, with soft reddish-brown coats. [...].\"",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To proclaim or exaggerate the importance of; to promote."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "proclaim",
          "proclaim"
        ],
        [
          "exaggerate",
          "exaggerate"
        ],
        [
          "promote",
          "promote"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, transitive) To proclaim or exaggerate the importance of; to promote."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang",
        "transitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-big up.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg/En-au-big_up.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "become big",
      "word": "enlarge"
    },
    {
      "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
      "word": "build up"
    },
    {
      "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
      "word": "bulk up"
    },
    {
      "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
      "word": "pump iron"
    },
    {
      "sense": "increase one's muscle mass",
      "word": "work out"
    },
    {
      "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
      "word": "overemphasize"
    },
    {
      "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
      "word": "overplay"
    },
    {
      "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
      "word": "play up"
    },
    {
      "sense": "exaggerate the importance of",
      "word": "sell"
    }
  ],
  "word": "big up"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "English phrasal verbs",
    "English phrasal verbs with particle (up)",
    "English terms with audio links",
    "English verbs"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "big ups",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "big up (plural big ups)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "strength training"
    },
    {
      "word": "shout out"
    },
    {
      "word": "word up"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English slang"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I want to give a big up to my bro on the mic."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Significant respect or acclaim."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "big ups",
          "big ups"
        ],
        [
          "respect",
          "respect"
        ],
        [
          "acclaim",
          "acclaim"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "also big ups",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(slang, also big ups) Significant respect or acclaim."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-big up.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg/En-au-big_up.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/En-au-big_up.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "significant respect",
      "word": "props"
    },
    {
      "sense": "significant respect",
      "word": "respect"
    }
  ],
  "word": "big up"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.