big business
Americannoun
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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.
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any large organization of a noncommercial nature resembling this.
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any large business enterprise.
noun
Etymology
Origin of big business
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
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.
Thomson Reuters bumped up its revenue targets for the year after logging double-digit growth across its three big business segments in the latest quarter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Thomson Reuters raised its 2026 revenue growth target to 8% after posting double-digit growth in its three big business segments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Pumping restrictions can also be more difficult for a grower with 20 acres than for a big business operating on thousands of acres.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The scheme has the backing of some big business names, including investment giant BlackRock, which said about 40% of Americans have no exposure to financial markets.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Astronauts were big business, particularly since American Alan Shepard had been launched into space on May 5, 1961, three weeks after Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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.
