What does biggish mean?
Biggish is an informal adjective meaning somewhat large — bigger than average, but not dramatically so. Formed by adding the familiar English suffix '-ish' to the word 'big', it belongs to a productive family of hedging terms such as largish, smallish, and tallish that allow speakers to describe approximate sizes without precision. In everyday conversation, someone might remark on a biggish crowd at a concert, a biggish slice of cake, or a biggish dent in their budget, extending naturally beyond physical size to quantities and degrees of importance. The word's connotation is casual and understated; it suggests an easygoing estimate rather than careful measurement, which makes it ill-suited to formal prose but ideal for speech and informal writing. Common throughout both British and American English, biggish offers a compact, natural way to convey moderate largeness without exaggeration.
adjectiveFairly large; somewhat bigger than average or than expected.
- Somewhat large; fairly big in size.
- (Extended use) Considerable in degree, amount, or importance rather than physical size.
"We ordered the biggish pizza so there'd be leftovers for tomorrow."
"They bought a biggish house on the edge of town."
"It was only a biggish problem at first, but it grew over time."
Biggish belongs to a handy English club of size words built on '-ish' — largish, smallish, tallish — letting speakers hedge sizes without committing to a number.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of biggish
Biggish is formed transparently from the adjective 'big', a word of uncertain but likely Scandinavian origin that entered Middle English around the thirteenth century, combined with the adjectival suffix '-ish', from Old English '-isc'. The '-ish' suffix long served to form approximative adjectives indicating a moderate degree of a quality. Biggish emerged in English during the eighteenth century and has remained a stable, colloquial term since.
How biggish is actually used
Informal and conversational in register; rarely used in formal writing, where 'moderately large' or 'considerable' would be preferred. It carries a hedging, understated tone typical of British speech but is common in American usage as well.
Easily confused with biggish
Piggish means resembling or behaving like a pig (greedy or messy), while biggish simply means somewhat large.