big data
compound.compound. extremely large sets of information that are too big to be handled by normal computers. Companies use special software to study these patterns to understand what people want or do.
compound. extremely large and complex datasets that exceed the processing capacity of conventional database systems. Analysis of these sets typically requires advanced computational methods to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behaviour.
Companies use big data to predict what customers will buy.
Retailers analyze big data from millions of transactions to determine which products should be stocked in specific regions.
The integration of big data into urban planning allows for real-time traffic management and more efficient allocation of public resources based on historical movement patterns.
A compound formed from the English adjectives big and data. While the individual components are ancient, the pairing emerged in the mid-1990s and is frequently attributed to the computer scientists John Mashey or Roger Magoulas.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated July 22, 2026