What Does Big Iron Mean?

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What does big iron mean?

Definitions for big ironbig iron

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word big iron.

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WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. big ironnoun

   Large, expensive, powerful computers such as mainframes.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Big Iron

   "Big Iron" is a country ballad written and performed by Marty Robbins, originally released as an album track on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs in September 1959, then as a single in February 1960 with the song "Saddle Tramp" as the B-side single. Members of the Western Writers of America chose it as one of the Top 100 Western songs of all time.It tells the story of an Arizona Ranger's duel with an outlaw named Texas Red in the "town of Agua Fria". The townspeople predict the death of the ranger; an unconcerned Texas Red having already killed "one and nineteen" men, but at the moment they meet, the ranger kills Texas Red with the "big iron on his hip." The ranger's draw was so swift, that Texas Red had not even "cleared leather," killing the outlaw in one shot. Robbins's version of the song reached number 5 on the Billboard Country chart and number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1960. The B-side, "Saddle Tramp" was not included on Gunfighter Ballads, but was later placed on Robbins' 1966 LP The Drifter.The song is also featured in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas on the in-game radio stations, 'Mojave Music Radio', ‘Black Mountain Radio’ and 'Radio New Vegas'. The popularity of the game helped spur a revival of interest in Robbins' music in the 21st century. In the decade following the video game's release, "Big Iron" became an Internet meme, gaining popularity through remixes and Photoshop parodies as well as its use on YouTube.

WikidataRate this definition:1.0 / 2 votes

1. Big iron

   Big iron, as the hacker's dictionary the Jargon File defines it, "refers to large, expensive, ultra-fast computers. It is used generally for number crunching supercomputers such as Crays, but can include more conventional big commercial IBM mainframes". The term is often used in reference to IBM mainframes, often when discussing their comeback/survival after the assault of lower cost Unix systems. More recently the term is also applied to powerful computer servers and computer ranches, whose steel racks naturally invoke the same association. The expression may be compared with the slang expression for heavy handguns, derived from the slang "iron" for a handgun, as exemplified by the classic country music ballad Big Iron by Marty Robbins about "the ranger with the big iron on his hip".

The New Hacker's DictionaryRate this definition:1.0 / 2 votes

1. big iron

   [common] Large, expensive, ultra-fast computers. Used generally of number-crunching supercomputers, but can include more conventional big commercial IBMish mainframes. Term of approval; compare heavy metal, oppose dinosaur.

How to pronounce big iron?

1. AlexUS EnglishDavidUS EnglishMarkUS EnglishDanielBritishLibbyBritishMiaBritishKarenAustralianHayleyAustralianNatashaAustralianVeenaIndianPriyaIndianNeerjaIndianZiraUS EnglishOliverBritishWendyBritishFredUS EnglishTessaSouth African

How to say big iron in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of big iron in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of big iron in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of big iron in a Sentence

1. Dan Ingram:

   There are a lot of people who don’t want a big iron safe.

2. Gavin Wendt:

   Big iron ore projects of this scale are no longer warranted and there's widespread recognition of this in the marketplace.

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References

1. ^ Wiktionaryhttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Big_Iron
2. ^ Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Iron
3. ^ Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=big iron
4. ^ The New Hacker's Dictionaryhttps://www.gutenberg.org/files/3008/3008-h/3008-h.htm#BigIron

Translations for big iron

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

• حديد كبيرArabic
• velká železoCzech
• stor jernDanish
• großes EisenGerman
• μεγάλο σίδεροGreek
• granda feroEsperanto
• gran hierroSpanish
• آهن بزرگPersian
• Iso rautaFinnish
• grand ferFrench
• sábháilteacon mórIrish
• besar besiIndonesian
• grande ferroItalian
• 大きな鉄Japanese
• magnum ferrumLatin
• groot ijzerDutch
• stort jernNorwegian
• duży żelazoPolish
• ferro grandePortuguese
• fier mareRomanian
• большой железныйRussian
• stor järnSwedish
• பெரிய இரண்டுTamil
• sắt lớnVietnamese
• 大鐵Chinese

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"big iron." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LTD, 2026. Web. 15 Mar. 2026. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/big+iron>.

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