big moneyn.adj.
/ˌbɪɡ ˈmʌni/, U.S. /ˈˌbɪɡ ˈməni/ Originally U.S.
A. n.
A large amount of money; esp. a large profit; a high salary.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [noun] > large sum
pounda1225
ransom?a1300
fother14..
gob1542
mint1579
king's ransomc1590
abomination1604
coda1680
a pretty (also fine, fair, etc.) penny1710
plunk1767
big money1824
pot1856
big one?1863
a small fortune1874
four figures1893
poultice1902
parcel1903
bundle1905
pretty1909
real money1918
stack1919
packet1922
heavy sugar1926
motza1936
big bucks1941
bomb1958
wedge1977
megadollars1980
squillion1986
bank1995
1824 in J. D. Wheeler Rep. Criminal Law Cases 2 308 I saw no big money. Each one paid for his hat.
1850 Spirit of Times 3 Aug. 282/1 There was not much big money bet, but ‘liquids of every variety’ were staked and won.
1870 A. Evans Our Sister Republic (1871) xx. 480 The room next me was occupied by a party who were playing poker all night for big money.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 16 Aug. 2/1 The skilled artisan has always been..well paid in Belfast. He makes what he calls ‘big money’.
2002 A. N. Wilson Victorians xvi. 409 There was big money to be made by those with the wit to build stadia.
B. adj. (attributive).
Usually with hyphen. Earning or involving a large amount of money; making a large profit.
ΚΠ
1905 Current Lit. July 7/2 Ryan, with his pleasant manners and wise ways, may be the big money frog in the national puddle.
1927 Chicago Tribune 10 July ii. 1/4 Dempsey started the big money era when he fought Jess Willard and drew $452,522.
2001 Nation (N.Y.) 12 Nov. 18/2 He could be maneuvered into a big-money fight as the latest white hope.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.adj.1824