largest - Master This Word
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largest Word Meanings
- big in size or amount
- greater in intensity or degree
- important or significant
largest Example Sentences
Example sentences are the start of understanding. Don't rush to memorize. First feel how the word works in a sentence.
largest Phonetic & Pronunciation
UK
/lɑːdʒ/
US
/lɑrdʒ/
largest Word Etymology
large = (from Latin 'largus' meaning generous) → Old French 'large' → English. Imagine a large feast representing generosity, where everyone's plates overflow with food.
Note 1: These definitions and etymologies are not standard dictionary definitions, but extended explanations provided to help with memorization and understanding of the actual application of words. Through this background information, we strive to make words more vivid and easier to understand, and help you remember their meanings in real life.
Note 2: LexiTalk designs the learning flow around the linguistics principle of “Comprehensible Input.” When learners encounter material that is slightly above their level but still understandable from context, the brain naturally absorbs the language. That’s why we keep every word inside authentic contexts, using examples and associations to help you understand it and use it flexibly.
Read the FAQ explanation of Comprehensible InputEnglish Brain Route
I pick up a small box and slowly move my hands to stretch it wider. I push one edge, then pull the corners to settle it into a bigger frame. The effort feels steady, a quiet turn of attention, a small adjustment as I hold the new size in my hands. That moment with large comes when something grows in size, amount, or importance in real life, like a large crowd or a bold plan.
Real Context
Large is a flexible adjective that describes size, quantity, intensity, or importance. It can refer to physical dimensions (a large suitcase), amounts (a large number of people), degrees of feeling (a large improvement), or significance (a large issue for policy). In everyday speech, large usually implies a noticeable scale but not always extreme; it pairs with many nouns in plain forms (a large car, a large feast) and with compound phrases (large-scale, large-area). It’s useful to compare with big, which can feel more casual, and with great, which often carries a sense of moral or emotional magnitude. Etymology traces large to Latin largus, meaning generous, evoking abundance as in a large feast.
Usage Reminders
- Use large to describe size, amount, degree, or importance in a neutral, literal way.
- Reserve large for more formal or written contexts; in spoken English, big is common and punchier.
- When describing people or objects, large normally comes before the noun (a large park) and often in compound terms (large-scale, large-area).
- Avoid using large for small quantities or adjectives that imply opinion; it should imply a sizable magnitude.
- Note the etymology: large comes from Latin largus, meaning generous, which helps remember its sense of abundance.
Common Misconceptions
- Large ≠ moral; it expresses size or amount, not value or goodness.
- Big is more casual; large is more formal or written.
- Describing people: use tall for height, not always large.
- Large is used with count nouns (a large number of) or uncountables (a large amount of).
- Avoid using large when you mean very important or great; use great or important instead.
Thinking Differences
Large conveys measurable size, amount, or importance; learners often default to big in all contexts or miss the formal nuance. Distinguish large (formal, written) from great (emotional significance) and from big (casual).
Learning Tips
- Listen for collocations: large numbers, large-scale projects, large areas.
- Remember when to use a large number of vs a large amount of.
- Compare large with big (casual) and great (emotional/importance).
- Use larger phrases to indicate scope (large-scale, large-area).
- Relate to the etymology: generosity, abundance, to recall the sense of size.
- Practice formal writing where large is common (reports, proposals).
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