Big Ben

proper noun

The hour bell in the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as the Clock Tower), adjacent to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, United Kingdom.

Similar
Great Clock
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

proper noun
  1. The hour bell in the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as the Clock Tower), adjacent to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, United Kingdom.

    Synonyms: Great Clock

  2. metonymicallyThe clock tower itself.

    He pulled up his sleeve and there on his scrawny arm hung a Rolex the size of Big Ben.

    2015, Dorothea Benton Frank, Carolina Girls

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounThe hour bell in the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known as the Clock Tower), adjacent to the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, United Kingdom.

Similar
Great Clock
Also see
elizabeth tower

Origin

Disputed, possibly after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after English boxer Ben Caunt.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic بِيج بِن, بِيغ بِن
  • بِيج بِن (bīj bin)the hour bell in London
  • بِيغ بِن (bīḡ bin)the hour bell in London
Bengali বিগ বেন
  • বিগ বেন (big ben)the hour bell in London
Bulgarian Биг Бе́н
  • Биг Бе́н (Big Bén)the hour bell in London
Chinese Mandarin 大本鐘 /大本钟, 大笨鐘 /大笨钟
  • 大本鐘 /大本钟 (Dà Běn zhōng)the hour bell in London
  • 大笨鐘 /大笨钟 (Dàbènzhōng)the hour bell in London
Dutch Big Ben
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
Finnish Big Ben
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
French Big Ben
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
German Big Ben
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
Greek Μπιγκ Μπεν
  • Μπιγκ Μπεν (Bigk Ben)the hour bell in London
Hebrew ביג בן
  • ביג בן (big ben)the hour bell in London
Hindi बिग बेन
  • बिग बेन (big ben)the hour bell in London
Icelandic Big Ben, Klukkuturn Westminsterhallar
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
  • Klukkuturn Westminsterhallarthe hour bell in London
Japanese ビッグ・ベン, ビッグベン
  • ビッグ・ベン (Biggu Ben)the hour bell in London
  • ビッグベン (Bigguben)the hour bell in London
Korean 빅 벤
  • 빅 벤 (Bik ben)the hour bell in London
Latvian Bigbens
  • Bigbensthe hour bell in London
Lithuanian Didysis Benas
  • Didysis Benasthe hour bell in London
Persian بیگ بن
  • بیگ بن (big ben)the hour bell in London
Portuguese Big Ben
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
Russian Биг-Бе́н
  • Биг-Бе́н (Big-Bén)the hour bell in London
Spanish Big Ben
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
Swedish Big Ben
  • Big Benthe hour bell in London
Tamil பிக் பென்
  • பிக் பென் (pik peṉ)the hour bell in London
Thai บิ๊กเบน
  • บิ๊กเบน (bík bayn)the hour bell in London
Ukrainian Біг-Бе́н
  • Біг-Бе́н (Bih-Bén)the hour bell in London
Urdu بگ بین
  • بگ بین (big ben)the hour bell in London
Cite this entry
APA

Big Ben. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Big%20Ben

MLA

“Big Ben.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Big%20Ben. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Big Ben,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Big%20Ben.

Source: Big Ben on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.