big business

American  

noun

1. 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.

2. any large organization of a noncommercial nature resembling this.

3. any large business enterprise.

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big business British  

noun

1. large commercial organizations collectively, esp when considered as exploitative or socially harmful

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big business Cultural  

1. Large corporations, as opposed to small individually or family-owned businesses.

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Etymology

Origin of big business

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

big business

It’s no secret there’s big business in scaring people: Horror movies are a box office staple, often costing the least to produce and resulting in the biggest profits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 26, 2026

Entrepreneur Ben Cooper made it a lot easier for people to get into character—by making licensed costumes a big business.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

But at the time it was seismic stuff, and it symbolised the conversion of football from sport into big business.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

The nutrition supplement market is a big business, with hundreds of brightly coloured recovery drinks and capsules promising reduced soreness and faster recovery.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026

“Himself not especially susceptible to flattery except in a sentimental way, he soon learned its efficacy when plastered thick on big business men,” Sullivan wrote.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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Related Words

• business
• commerce
• corporation
• management
• production
• trade

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