Meaning & use
big ego
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Meanings
nouncountable
An exaggerated sense of one's own importance or ability; arrogance.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a big ego' or 'big egos'.
Patterns
- have a big ego
- with a big ego
- a big ego
He never admits mistakes because he has such a big ego.
Her big ego makes it hard for her to work in a team.
After the promotion, his big ego started to annoy his colleagues.
nouncountableinformal
A person who behaves in an arrogant way, as if they are more important than others.
Grammar: Used to describe a person, often with 'a' or 'the'.
Patterns
- a big ego
- such a big ego
Don't be such a big ego; listen to other people's ideas.
The new manager is a big ego who never listens.
Word forms
| plural | big egos |
|---|
Common combinations
- have a big ego
- He has a big ego and always talks about his achievements.
- a big ego
- She's got a big ego and thinks she's always right.
- big ego
- His big ego often gets in the way of teamwork.
- such a big ego
- I've never met anyone with such a big ego.
Synonyms and how they differ
- arrogance
- A more formal noun meaning an attitude of superiority; 'big ego' is informal and often used to describe a person.
- conceit
- A stronger, more literary word for excessive pride in oneself; 'big ego' is everyday and milder.
- egotism
- Focuses on talking about oneself too much; 'big ego' emphasizes a general sense of self-importance.
- narcissism
- A psychological term for excessive self-love; 'big ego' is not a clinical term.
Opposites
Commonly confused: big ego or bighead?
big ego vs bighead
A single word meaning an arrogant person; 'big ego' is a phrase and can also refer to the attitude itself.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'big ego' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The phrase is countable and needs a determiner like 'a' when singular. Option 1 is correct. Option 2 lacks 'a', option 3 uses 'the' incorrectly, and option 4 uses the plural 'egos' which does not agree with the singular subject 'he'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “big ego”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.