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.
"There has to be a big stick and a big carrot here," he argues.
From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026
“We don’t go in with the big stick to begin with,” Morling said.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2024
“I had a big stick, and I was banging on the box, really whaling on it. So he wasn’t just plopped on his feet. Because I wanted him to be alighting down to the ground.”
From New York Times • Jan. 26, 2022
Despite the big stick, keeping the quiet has never been easy.
From Salon • Oct. 9, 2021
"A man doesn't have a worry in the world, while I've got a baby hanging over my head like a big stick, to keep me in line."
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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.
