big stick
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of big stick
An Americanism dating back to 1895–1900
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.
President Theodore Roosevelt famously said “speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2026
That is a big stick to beat his players with.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2024
“We don’t go in with the big stick to begin with,” Morling said.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
“Sometimes it seems to say: ‘Well if you don’t like these carrots, we’ve got a big stick as well,” he said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
I took the big stick out of my backpack—a bedpost I’d broken off Crusty’s Safari Deluxe floor model.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
