mean business
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Drones and anti-drones mean business for a host of defense startups and established players.
From Barron's • Feb. 11, 2026
"And we mean business on this, because far too many people are not getting these homes."
From BBC • Feb. 10, 2025
According to local reporting, members said the reason for the act of civil disobedience was to show the casinos that they mean business and that they’re willing to sit down in traffic for a contract.
From Washington Times • Oct. 26, 2023
The memo suggested wearing costumes “inspired by generalized characters and figures” — such as ghosts, zombies or spiders — to show the studios they mean business, even on a holiday.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2023
Math was my specialty—you spend enough time at the cash register and you learn to love numbers, because each and every one means dollars and cents, and enough of those mean business is booming.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
