mean business
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What kinds of questions do they ask that lets you know that they’re informed or they mean business?
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Drones and anti-drones mean business for a host of defense startups and established players.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
The 27-year-old Dutchman delivered an all-action performance, contributing a goal and an assist, as City showed they mean business by thrashing Wolves at Molineux.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2025
"And we mean business on this, because far too many people are not getting these homes."
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2025
Math was my specialty—you spend enough time at the cash register and you learn to love numbers, because each and every one means dollars and cents, and enough of those mean business is booming.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
