massive

massive

mas‧sive S2 W3 /ˈmæsɪv/ BrE AmE adjective
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: French; Origin: massif, from masse; ⇨ mass¹]
1. very large, solid, and heavy:
The bell is massive, weighing over 40 tons.
the castle’s massive walls
2. unusually large, powerful, or damaging:
My phone bill was massive last month.
massive increases in the number of homeless
Club members can get a massive discount of £50.
massive stroke/heart attack etc
He suffered a massive stroke.
massive argument/row etc British English:
I had a massive argument with her.
3. British English informal extremely good:
Listen to this. It’s a massive song.
—massively adverb:
The president was massively popular.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ very big
▪ huge/massive/enormous extremely big: The table was enormous. | a huge explosion | Their house is huge. | There is a huge amount of work to be done. | There has been a massive increase in oil prices. | The company is massive, operating in 150 countries. | A massive fire destroyed more than thirty homes. | He’s been under an enormous amount of stress recently. | The changes will have an enormous impact.
▪ great [only before noun] very big – used especially to describe the level or number of something: He achieved great success in America. | The college offers a great number of courses. | a great advantage
▪ vast extremely big – used about areas, distances, numbers, or amounts: vast areas of rainforest | A vast number of tourists visit the island every year.
▪ gigantic extremely big and much bigger than other things of the same type: Gigantic waves crashed onto the beach.
▪ colossal extremely big – used about amounts or objects: James ran up a colossal phone bill. | a colossal statue of Napoleon
▪ tremendous having an extremely big effect: There have been some tremendous changes. | My new job will be a tremendous challenge. | The children were making a tremendous amount of noise.