massive

adjective

mas·​sive ˈma-siv How to pronounce massive (audio)
1
: forming or consisting of a large mass:
a
: bulky
massive furniture
b
: weighty, heavy
massive walls
a massive volume
c
: impressively large or ponderous
stars more massive than the sun
d
: having no regular form but not necessarily lacking crystalline structure
massive sandstone
2
a
: large, solid, or heavy in structure
massive jaw
b
: large in scope or degree
the feeling of frustration, of being ineffectual, is massiveDavid Halberstam
c(1)
: large in comparison to what is typical
a massive dose of penicillin
(2)
: being extensive and severe
massive hemorrhage
(3)
: imposing in excellence or grandeur
massive simplicity
the most massive American dramatist of his timeNewsweek
3
: having mass (see mass entry 2 sense 1c)
a massive boson
massively adverb
massiveness noun

Examples of massive in a Sentence

The fort had massive walls. stars more massive than the sun A massive effort will be required to clean up the debris. You can find a massive amount of information on the Internet. The stunt received massive publicity. a massive collection of baseball cards
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Despite Kamala Harris having a massive ground game, Donald Trump won by a significant margin. The Arizona Republic, 22 Nov. 2024 Lutnick, by contrast, obsesses over minutiae, having made a career slicing small profits from massive transactions, exploring virtually every nook and cranny on Wall Street. Danielle Chemtob, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024 In the years since, losses in some places have neared 20% — and were particularly acute following a massive flood event in 2019. Madeline Heim, Journal Sentinel, 21 Nov. 2024 Perhaps earmark some of those funds for a reissue of the Beastie Boys’ third album, Ill Communication, which is out now in a massive presentation across three 180g LPs with lenticular cover art and 12 bonus cuts and remixes, all stored in a hard slipcase. Jason Pettigrew, SPIN, 21 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for massive 

Word History

Etymology

Middle English massiffe, from Anglo-French mascif, alteration of massiz, from Vulgar Latin *massicius, from Latin massa mass

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of massive was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near massive

Cite this Entry

“Massive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/massive. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

massive

adjective
mas·​sive ˈmas-iv How to pronounce massive (audio)
1
: weighty sense 1, heavy
massive walls
2
a
: large, solid, or heavy in structure
a massive jaw
b
: large in extent or degree
a massive effort
3
: having mass
massively adverb
massiveness noun

Medical Definition

massive

adjective
mas·​sive ˈmas-iv How to pronounce massive (audio)
1
: large in comparison to what is typical
used especially of medical dosage or of an infectious agent
a massive dose of penicillin
2
: being extensive and severe
used of a pathologic condition
a massive hemorrhage
a massive collapse of a lung

More from Merriam-Webster on massive

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