big business

noun

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of big business

1 : an economic group consisting of large profit-making corporations especially with regard to their influence on social or political policy

2 : a very profitable enterprise

See big business defined for English-language learners

Examples of big business in a Sentence

The tax proposal will be of most benefit to big business.
Tourism is big business in the region.

Recent Examples of big business from the Web

Facebook and an additional four of the state’s biggest businesses — Google, Comcast, Verizon and AT&T — have already anted up $200,000 apiece to fight the initiative.

— matier & ross, San Francisco Chronicle, "Facebook fiasco boosts bid to put California crackdown on ballot," 1 Apr. 2018
Of course New Zealand is a tiny contributor, overall, to the warming planet—and yet carbon-heavy industries like farming, horticulture, and forestry are the country’s biggest businesses.

— amelia lester, Vogue, "New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, Is Young, Forward-Looking, and Unabashedly Liberal—Call Her the Anti-Trump," 14 Feb. 2018
Last month, prosecutors asked a Seoul court to sentence Ms. Park to 30 years in prison on charges of collecting or demanding $21 million in bribes from big businesses.

— choe sang-hun, New York Times, "In South Korea, Another Former President Lands in Jail," 22 Mar. 2018
Keen to hawk their wares within its bounds are the country’s biggest businesses and its most outrageous hucksters (including one entrepreneur arrested for painting stray dogs and selling them as pedigree chums).

— The Economist, "Why billboards are under attack in Pakistan’s business capital," 22 Mar. 2018
The city’s town hall is actively working to attract big business.

— mayra cruz, Houston Chronicle, "Retiring Tomball city manager plans on mentoring other public servants," 20 Mar. 2018
Last month, prosecutors asked a Seoul court to sentence Park to 30 years in prison on charges of collecting or demanding $21 million in bribes from big businesses like Samsung.

— choe sang-hun, BostonGlobe.com, "A second former president of South Korea is under investigation," 14 Mar. 2018
Back then, boosting legal immigration was seen by many on the left as a sop to big business.

— Anchorage Daily News, "Stances on guns, immigration reflect the sea change in cultural politics," 1 Mar. 2018
Park is facing 18 charges including bribery, coercion and abuse of power for her alleged role in a plan to extort millions of dollars from South Korea’s biggest businesses for her personal gain.

— anna fifield, Washington Post, "South Korean prosecutors request 30-year sentence for disgraced former president Park," 27 Feb. 2018

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

First Known Use of big business

1905

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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BIG BUSINESS Defined for English Language Learners

big business

noun

Definition of big business for English Language Learners

: large companies considered together as a powerful group
: an activity or product that makes a large amount of money

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big business

Definition of big business

Examples of big business in a Sentence

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BIG BUSINESS Defined for English Language Learners

big business

Definition of big business for English Language Learners

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