large wild animals, especially when hunted for sport.
Expensive vacation packages to hunt big game like leopards or elephants in Africa are marketed almost exclusively to wealthy foreign tourists.
large fish, as tuna and marlin, when sought by deep-sea anglers.
Participants in the sport fishing tournament regularly return to shore with big game exceeding 200 pounds.
a major objective, especially one that involves risk.
The merger shows their commitment to the big game, in a market where half measures just won’t pay off.
large animals that are hunted or fished for sport
informal the objective of an important or dangerous undertaking
First recorded in 1860–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Georgia Hallgalley and Jake Hawker say they will have a projector showing the football at their wedding reception in Guildford to avoid guests missing out on the big game.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
That brings us back to Yamamoto, whose combination of consistency and excellence makes him the natural choice to start a big game — opening day, for instance, or an elimination game in the World Series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Don Robertson will have the whistle for the big game, aided by assistant referees Calum Spence and David Roome, while Kevin Clancy and assistant Matthew MacDermid will be at the VAR controls.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
“Andy got hurt in the big game of reality.”
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
“You know how the high school always has pep rallies for teams with a big game coming up? Helps everybody feel good. Gives them hope, especially when they’re facing someone with a way better record?”
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
It’s a portrait of a team assembled from spare parts and one generational talent that somehow made it all the way to the Big Game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
Xfinity’s first-ever Big Game bid utilizes de-aging software to bring Jurassic Park stars Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill back to the ’90s.
From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2026
Many snack and beverage brands from PepsiCo are also confirmed advertisers at the Big Game.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
He is part of Channel 5's Big Game Night NFL coverage and they are live on Super Bowl Sunday on 8 February from 22:30 GMT.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
Our Big Game Licenses arrived after breakfast, and permits for five hundred rounds of rifle ammunition each.
From The Ivory Trail by Mundy, Talbot
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.
