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big boy

noun
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Definition of big boy

: big gun —usually used in plural
Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about big boy

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Examples of big boy in a Sentence

when she became the network's White House correspondent, she knew that she was now playing with the big boys
Recent Examples on the Web The world may know Harry as a solo singer who used to be a member of one of the biggest boy bands in the world, One Direction, but Harry's also an actor, an executive producer and a model. — Jasmine Gomez, Seventeen, "Harry Styles' Net Worth Will Make You Crave Some "Watermelon Sugar"," 19 Dec. 2019 What's new: This summer, Skyscanner added the Indian carrier IndiGo as a partner and hit the 100 million monthly user milestone, putting it in a league with the big boys. — Anchorage Daily News, "Ranking the best airfare search sites and apps," 24 Nov. 2019 What’s new: This summer, Skyscanner added the Indian carrier IndiGo as a partner and hit the 100 million monthly user milestone, putting it in a league with the big boys. — Washington Post, "Ranking the best airfare search sites and apps," 20 Nov. 2019 Yet the success of Elon Musk's Tesla shows that determined engineers with the right ideas and timing can disrupt the big boys. — Charles Riley, CNN, "Investors revel in trade and Brexit optimism," 11 Oct. 2019 Nebraska is always going to have some big boys — they’re Nebraska. — Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, "‘A little more nastiness’: South Alabama offensive line could be key vs. Nebraska," 28 Aug. 2019 This is a big boy ready for all of your gear needs. — James Lynch, Popular Mechanics, "7 Best Rooftop Cargo Carriers," 19 Nov. 2019 Some have said that Democrats need to put on their big boy pants and move on from this defeat. — Sunny Sea Gold, Scientific American, "Seven Ways to Keep Discord off the Thanksgiving Table," 22 Nov. 2016 Overmatched in Baltimore, Houston must step up vs. big boys now. — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, "NFL power rankings: Cowboys, Saints on move as stars like Dak Prescott, Alvin Kamara heat up," 19 Nov. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'big boy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of big boy

1916, in the meaning defined above

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Time Traveler for big boy

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The first known use of big boy was in 1916

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Statistics for big boy

Last Updated

19 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Big boy.” The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Inc., https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/big%20boy. Accessed 28 January 2020.

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More from Merriam-Webster on big boy

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for big boy

Rhyming Dictionary: Words that rhyme with big boy

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about big boy

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