big time

plural big times · alternative big-time · alternative bigtime

1. The highest, or most prestigious level in any field, especially in entertainment.

   This was a rare whiff of the big-time for a club whose staple diet became top-flight football for so long - the glamour was in short supply, however. Thousands of empty seats and the driving Yorkshire rain saw to that.

   2012, Ben Smith, Leeds United 2-1 Everton

   Synonyms: big league, major league

comparative more big time · superlative most big time · alternative big-time · alternative bigtime

1. informalBy a large margin; with great significance.

   North Vancouver condo buyers ‘won big time playing the long game’ [title]

   2019 December 6, Kerry Gold, “North Vancouver condo buyers ‘won big time playing the long game’”, in The Globe and Mail (Vancouver)

   4 more examples

   A Wheel of Fortune contestant was about to win a shot at the million dollar grand prize when he bumbled his answer and lost out big time.

   2013 September 18, “Wheel of Fortune contestant loses chance at $1 million after mispronouncing a word”, in Daily Mail

   “American doesn’t hedge,” said Seth Kaplan, managing partner for the trade publication Airlines Weekly. “So, they have won big time.”

   2015 January 28, Hugo Martin, “American Airlines’ fuel-buying bet pays off in record profit”, in Los Angeles Times

   Peterborough United almost missed out on signing star man Ivan Toney, but now they are set to cash in big-time [title]

   2020 June 22, Alan Swann, “Peterborough United almost missed out on signing star man Ivan Toney, but now they are set to cash in big-time”, in Peterborough Telegraph

   But on other fronts there’s a clear case for optimism. Science has come to our rescue, big time, with the miraculously fast development of vaccines against the coronavirus.

   2021 January 1, Paul Krugman, “Things Will Get Better. Seriously.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

present singular third person big times · participle present big timing · participle past big timed · past big timed · alternative big-time · alternative bigtime

1. alternativeAlternative spelling of big-time.