Big vs Huge
Difference between big and huge is very slim thus creating confusion. Both these words, big and huge, are adjectives. When it comes to big, it is used as a verb in the British informal English. Then, the word big is also used as a noun in the North American informal English. Moreover, the origin of the word big is in Middle English. Similarly, the origin of the word huge is also found in Middle English. Apart from this, the word big is also used in a number of phrases such as big with child, big cheese, the big five, etc. The word huge is not used with such phrases, but it has a derivative called hugeness.
What does Big mean?
The word big often refers to the size whereas the word huge refers to appearance or shape. Observe the sentence given below.
I had a big lunch today.
In this sentence, the word big refers to the size of the lunch. On some occasions, the word big is used to indicate actions as in the sentence given below.
He made a big mistake.
In this sentence, you can see that the word big is used in connection with an action. Sometimes, the word big is used in emotions as in the sentence given below.
How big it is!
Moreover, big is used to indicate the sense ‘elder.’ Look at the example given below.
This is my big sister, Natasha.
Here, in this sentence, the word big indicates that Natasha is older than the speaker. These are some of the rules in connection with the usage of the word big. On the other hand, the adjective big has the comparative and the superlative degrees in the words ‘bigger’ and ‘biggest’. It often refers to considerable size or considerable amount. Sometimes the word big is figuratively used in the sense of ‘something important’ and ‘something significant’ as in the sentence given below.
He is a big man.
This sentence indicates that ‘he’ in this sentence is a man of importance.
What does Huge mean?
On the other hand, the word huge is used in the sense of ‘large’ and ‘enormous’. Sometimes the word huge is used in the sense of ‘very great’ as in the expression ‘a huge success’. Observe the sentence given below.
He met with a huge success.
In this sentence, you can see that the word huge is used in the sense of ‘very great’. The meaning of the sentence would be ‘he met with a very great success’. It is interesting to note that the noun form of the adjective huge is ‘hugeness’.
What is the difference between Big and Huge?
• The word big often refers to the size whereas the word huge refers to appearance or shape.
• On some occasions, the word big is used to indicate actions.
• Sometimes, the word big is used in emotions.
• Moreover, big is used to indicate the sense ‘elder.’
• On the other hand, the word huge is used in the sense of ‘large’ and ‘enormous’.
• Sometimes the word huge is used in the sense of ‘very great.’
• The noun form of the adjective huge is ‘hugeness’.
• On the other hand, the adjective big has the comparative and the superlative degrees in the words ‘bigger’ and ‘biggest’.
• Sometimes the word big is figuratively used in the sense of ‘something important’ and ‘something significant.’
These are the differences between big and huge.