large wild animals, especially when hunted for sport.
Expensive vacation packages to hunt big game like leopards or elephants in Africa are marketed almost exclusively to wealthy foreign tourists.
large fish, as tuna and marlin, when sought by deep-sea anglers.
Participants in the sport fishing tournament regularly return to shore with big game exceeding 200 pounds.
a major objective, especially one that involves risk.
The merger shows their commitment to the big game, in a market where half measures just won’t pay off.
large animals that are hunted or fished for sport
informal the objective of an important or dangerous undertaking
First recorded in 1860–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Articles published around the time of Rockstar's last big game, Red Dead Redemption 2, suggested the practice was widespread within the company, external, although it rejected claims it was enforced.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
He has had big moments in his career, he is a big game player.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
That brings us back to Yamamoto, whose combination of consistency and excellence makes him the natural choice to start a big game — opening day, for instance, or an elimination game in the World Series.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
“Andy got hurt in the big game of reality.”
From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2026
To play, you had to roll your dice and move your big game piece across these grids I had built all across Harmonee.
From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore
It’s a portrait of a team assembled from spare parts and one generational talent that somehow made it all the way to the Big Game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
Xfinity’s first-ever Big Game bid utilizes de-aging software to bring Jurassic Park stars Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Sam Neill back to the ’90s.
From Slate ● Feb. 8, 2026
Many snack and beverage brands from PepsiCo are also confirmed advertisers at the Big Game.
From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026
Relax and enjoy the Big Game without worrying about what it means for your portfolio.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 5, 2026
The sensations attributed to divers on spring-boards, leading ladies on opening nights, and lumpy, husky young men on the day of the Big Game, crowded through her.
From This Side of Paradise by Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott)
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.
