Big Bang

Meanings

1. The cosmic event that marks the beginning of time and the rapid expansion of space for the visible universe. The evolution of the universe since that beginning point is described by the Big Bang Theory.
2. The sudden deregulation of financial markets effected by prime minister Margaret Thatcher in 1986.

1. a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an infinitely small, hot, and dense point.
2. A large implementation of a system rather than phased or gradual delivery.

1. Alternative letter-case form of Big Bang.

Etymology

Coined by English astronomer Fred Hoyle on the BBC Third Programme, broadcast at 18:30 GMT on 28 March 1949. It is a popular but misinformed belief that this was intended as a derogatory term, Hoyle being a proponent of the opposing steady state theory, but Hoyle himself has rejected that notion.