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

The look became big business at Macy’s, J.C.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 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

The most important night in Hollywood has become big business for prediction markets.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

Astronauts were big business, particularly since American Alan Shepard had been launched into space on May 5, 1961, three weeks after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Related Words

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