Meaning & use
Big Dipper
Last updated
Meanings
proper nounproperAmerican
A group of seven bright stars in the northern sky that form the shape of a large ladle, and part of the constellation Ursa Major.
Grammar: Always used with the and capital letters: the Big Dipper.
Patterns
- the Big Dipper
- find the Big Dipper
We lay on the grass and found the Big Dipper above the trees.
The two stars at the end of the Big Dipper's bowl point to the North Star.
The Big Dipper is visible all year in much of the northern United States.
proper nounproperinformal
In American English, a name used for some roller coasters, as in an amusement park attraction.
Grammar: Used as a name, often without the in the ride's own title.
Patterns
- ride the Big Dipper
We rode the Big Dipper three times at the seaside fair.
The old Big Dipper at the amusement park was built in the 1920s.
He screamed all the way down the first drop of the Big Dipper.
Common combinations
- find the Big Dipper
- Can you find the Big Dipper in tonight's sky?
- stars of the Big Dipper
- The stars of the Big Dipper are easy to spot.
- handle of the Big Dipper
- The handle of the Big Dipper curves away from the bowl.
- bowl of the Big Dipper
- The bowl of the Big Dipper seems to hold water.
- below the Big Dipper
- The faint star sits just below the Big Dipper.
Synonyms and how they differ
- the Plough
- The Plough is the common British name for the same star pattern.
- Ursa Major
- Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is the full constellation that contains the Big Dipper, so it is larger than the Dipper itself.
- Great Bear
- Great Bear is the English name of Ursa Major, covering more stars than the Dipper alone.
Word family
- Little Dipper proper noun
- a smaller star pattern that includes the North Star
- dipper noun
- a ladle or cup with a long handle used to scoop liquid
- constellation noun
- a group of stars seen as a pattern in the sky
Commonly confused: Big Dipper or Little Dipper? Big Dipper or Orion?
Big Dipper vs Little Dipper
The Little Dipper is a different, fainter pattern of stars, with Polaris at the end of its handle.
Big Dipper vs Orion
Orion is another well known constellation, seen mostly in winter and shaped like a hunter, not a ladle.
Practice
Which group of stars do the pointer stars of the bowl help you to locate the North Star from?
Choose one answer.
The two end stars of the Big Dipper's bowl point towards the North Star. The Southern Cross is only seen in the southern hemisphere.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Big Dipper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.