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.
"We're not going in there with a big stick to start off with, what's fair is that there's a conversation, that conversation leads to action, and the parents buy into that action," he said.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
President Theodore Roosevelt famously said “speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.”
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 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
A big stick was on the ground next to Frank.
From "The Missing Mitt (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #2)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
