big business

American  

noun

1. 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.

2. any large organization of a noncommercial nature resembling this.

3. any large business enterprise.

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big business British  

noun

1. large commercial organizations collectively, esp when considered as exploitative or socially harmful

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big business Cultural  

1. Large corporations, as opposed to small individually or family-owned businesses.

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Etymology

Origin of big business

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

Example Sentences

Fewer consumers are paying attention to PCs these days in a tech world dominated by talk of AI and smartphones, but laptops are still a big business.

From The Wall Street Journal

Brown says volatile gold swings drove the increase in exports, supported by an another volatile category, aircraft, which surged thanks to big business jet shipments to the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal

Perhaps even more important, big businesses aren’t going to just immediately decide to abandon long-term software contracts in favor of AI, he says.

From Barron's

Ambani, one of India’s richest and best-known executives, said the company will build gigawatt-scale data centers and aim to deliver reliable, high-quality, affordable AI services for both big businesses and ordinary consumers.

From The Wall Street Journal

From her perch in New Orleans, she has also reported on natural disasters, the big business of Mardi Gras and her neighborhood peacock, Mr. P.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• business
• commerce
• corporation
• management
• production
• trade