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.
A smaller oil producer and less affluent country than most of its peers in the Persian Gulf, Muscat lacks the muscle inside the Beltway that comes with big business and military contracts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 2, 2026
Trump, in his Fox appearance, appeared to announce one of the big business deals by saying China had agreed to purchase "200 big" Boeing jets.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
What is clear though is that robotic weapon systems are big business.
From BBC • May 6, 2026
Wall Street isn’t giving Arm Holdings enough credit for a big business transformation, according to an analyst.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
“I don’t know. Maybe some people. But I don’t have the right family name with a big business to inherit. My mother wanted to retire here.”
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
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.
