Definition of Big Dipper

1. Noun. A group of seven bright stars in the constellation Ursa Major.

Exact synonyms: Charles's Wain, Dipper, Plough, Wagon, Wain
Generic synonyms: Asterism
Group relationships: Great Bear, Ursa Major

2. Noun. Elevated railway in an amusement park (usually with sharp curves and steep inclines).

Definition of Big Dipper

1. Proper noun. (constellation) A bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a ladle or cart. It is part of the constellation Ursa Major and includes the stars Mizar, Dubhe, and Alkaid. ¹

2. Noun. An alternative term for a rollercoaster. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Big Dipper

big break
big brother
big brothers
big brown bat
big bucks
big business
big businessman
big cat
big cats
big cheese
big cheeses
big daddies
big daddy
big deal
big deals
big dipper
big dippers
big enchilada
big enchiladas
big fat
big figure
big fish
big fish in a small pond
big fly
big game
big girl's blouse
big girl's blouses
big gun
big guns
big guy

Literary usage of Big Dipper

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Handbook of Nature-study for Teachers and Parents, Based on the Cornell by Anna Botsford Comstock (1911)
"The Big Dipper is a part of a constellation called Ursa Major, the Great Bear; and the Little Dipper is the Little Bear, the handle of the dipper being the ..."

2. The Riverside Readers by James Hixon Van Sickle, Wilhelmina Seegmiller (1911)
"Now, any bright night you can find the big dipper in the sky; and, ... Will you find a big bucket by the big dipper, and a little bucket by the little ..."

3. South Sea Letters by Mrs. Mary V. Gerhard Woolley, John Granville Woolley (1906)
"We had just crossed the bow of the hemispheres; the Big Dipper blazed on our left, pointing as ever to the north; the Southern Cross hung over the "Coal ..."

4. The World Book: Organized Knowledge in Story and Picture edited by Michael Vincent O'Shea, Ellsworth D. Foster, George Herbert Locke (1917)
"A little to the north of the zenith (the point directly over your head) is one group of stars which nearly everyone knows—the Big Dipper. ..."

5. Elements of General Science by Otis William Caldwell, William Lewis Eikenberry (1918)
"The Big Dipper Photograph taken so as to omit almost all stars except those ... The North Star and the Big Dipper are easily located. The Big Dipper is ..."

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