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.
From its Bahrain base overlooking a manicured cove in Manama, Vitol over decades built a big business supplying Persian Gulf oil to Asia.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2026
However, OpenAI's move also reflects how big tech does big business.
From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026
Wall Street isn’t giving Arm Holdings enough credit for a big business transformation, according to an analyst.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026
“We kept talking about these tropes from ‘80s movies of slobs versus snobs,” and how it mirrored the mom-and-pop shop versus big business dynamic.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026
American universities, already beginning to enjoy the fruits of collaboration with big business, duly put this relationship to work.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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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.