Phrase guide

the bigger they are, the harder they fall

proverb · 1 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

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1

proverb

Meaning 1

The larger or the higher of a rank something is, the more disastrous and spectacular its downfall.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: the bigger they come, the harder they fall

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: hoge bomen vangen veel wind — proverb
  • Finnish: ryskyen kaatuvat suuret puut — proverb
  • German: wer hoch steigt, fällt tief — proverb
  • German: wer hoch fliegt, fällt tief — proverb
  • German: wer viel hat, kann viel verlieren — proverb
  • Khmer: ឈើធំរលំឮខ្លាំង (chəə thom rɔlum lɨɨ klaŋ) — proverb
  • Polish: im wyżej się wzniesiesz, tym boleśniej spadasz — proverb
  • Portuguese: quanto maior a altura, maior a queda — proverb
  • Russian: чем бо́льше шкаф, тем гро́мче он па́дает (čem bólʹše škaf, tem grómče on pádajet) — proverb
  • Slovene: kdor visoko leta, nizko pade — proverb
  • Spanish: más dura será la caída — proverb
  • Ukrainian: чим більша шафа, тим/то гучніше падає (čym bilʹša šafa, tym/to hučniše padaje) — proverb
  • Vietnamese: trèo cao ngã đau — proverb
  • Vietnamese: trèo cao té đau — proverb