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Synonyms

big stick

American  

noun

  1. force, especially political or military, used by a government as a means of influence.

big stick British  

noun

  1. informal force or the threat of using force

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

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

Several leaders took "a great big stick" to the previous government on the issue, historian and author Patricia O'Brien says.

From BBC • Jun. 5, 2022

“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

I threw him a big stick, which he used to pull the bookcase closer.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

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.