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.
“He had a big stick and looked like Moses or something, walking to the promised land,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 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
It is quite common these days to hear those who specialise in Taiwan studies quoting the old maxim from President Theodore Roosevelt to "speak softly and carry a big stick".
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2024
I took the big stick out of my backpack—a bedpost I’d broken off Crusty’s Safari Deluxe floor model.
From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan
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.
