big business
Americannoun
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large business, commercial, and financial firms taken collectively, especially when considered as a group having shared attitudes and goals and exercising control over economic policy, politics, etc.
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any large organization of a noncommercial nature resembling this.
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any large business enterprise.
noun
Etymology
Origin of big business
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In January, BBC Sport highlighted how Manchester City, as a separate entity, has turned selling players nurtured in their academy into big business.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
More likely, it would persuade big business to pursue due diligence instead of profits over people and the environment.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
The deal is the latest indication of how financial products and services catering to American retirees and older workers have become big business on Wall Street.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 12, 2026
Thomson Reuters TRI 11.34%increase; green up pointing triangle bumped up its revenue targets for the year after logging double-digit growth across its three big business segments in the latest quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
“Selling falcons to Arabian sheiks,” the librarian goes on, “has always been a big business, even when Jesus lived.”
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
