big house

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word big house. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word big house, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say big house in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word big house you have here. The definition of the word big house will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofbig house, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: bighouse

English

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Noun

big house (plural big houses)

  1. (slang) Prison, jail.
    • 1948 November 15, “The End of Bad Boy Collins”, in Time:
      He was 38 years old and had been in the big house twice for shooting scrapes.
  2. (slang, obsolete) The workhouse.
  3. A religious building of the Delaware Indians, representing the cosmos.
  4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see big,‎ house.

Usage notes

  • In slang, always preceded by "the".