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

"It's these multifaceted international relationships with big business that we really need to be strengthening far more than we have," he adds.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 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

Yet credit-card interest is big business, Pierce and other researchers wrote.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026

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

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 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

Related Words

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