Phrase guide

big data

name · noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌbɪɡ ˈdeɪtə/
  • US: /ˌbɪɡ ˈdeɪtə/
  • US: /-ˈdætə/
  • US: /-ˈdɑːtə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

name

Meaning 1

Alternative letter-case form of big data.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Data on a very large scale, such that it can only be gathered or processed with computers, especially with reference to its potential to allow for new breakthroughs or understanding in a particular field of study.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

In 2000, economist Francis X. Diebold published the first version of a paper titled “Big Data Dynamic Factor Models for Macroeconomic Measurement and Forecasting.” After being interviewed on his use of the term “big data” by NYTimes.com blogger Steve Lohr, Diebold undertook his own investigation, in which he concluded: “The term ‘Big Data,’ which spans computer science and statistics/econometrics, probably originated in the lunch-table conversations at Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) in the mid 1990s, in which John Mashey figured prominently.”

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: groot data — collection of data sets
  • Afrikaans: grootdata — collection of data sets
  • Chinese Mandarin: 大數據 /大数据 (dàshùjù) — collection of data sets
  • Danish: Big Data — collection of data sets
  • Finnish: massadata — collection of data sets
  • French: mégadonnées — collection of data sets
  • French: big data — collection of data sets
  • German: Big Data — collection of data sets
  • German: Massendaten — collection of data sets
  • Indonesian: data besar — collection of data sets
  • Indonesian: data raya — collection of data sets
  • Indonesian: mahadata — collection of data sets
  • Italian: megadati — collection of data sets
  • Japanese: ビッグデータ (biggu deeta) — collection of data sets
  • Korean: 빅 데이터 (bik deiteo) — collection of data sets
  • Malay: data raya — collection of data sets
  • Norwegian Bokmål: stordata — collection of data sets
  • Norwegian Bokmål: big data — collection of data sets
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: stordata — collection of data sets
  • Portuguese: megadados — collection of data sets
  • Portuguese: macrodados — collection of data sets
  • Portuguese: grandes dados — collection of data sets
  • Russian: большие да́нные (bolʹšije dánnyje) — collection of data sets
  • Spanish: macrodatos — collection of data sets
  • Spanish: inteligencia de datos — collection of data sets
  • Tamil: பெருந்தரவு (peruntaravu) — collection of data sets
  • Turkish: büyük veri — collection of data sets
  • Vietnamese: dữ liệu lớn — collection of data sets