Document And Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Feb. 02, 2019	Mar. 29, 2019	Aug. 04, 2018
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Feb. 02, 2019
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	BIG LOTS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000768835
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		40,142,960
Entity Public Float			$ 1,807,128,260