the big boys

plural noun

informal

: the most powerful people or companies

He'll have to work pretty hard if he wants to compete with the big boys in the industry.

Examples of the big boys in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Walker, the Super Bowl MVP, took advantage of the holes to help the Chiefs pile up 393 yards of total offense, and the big boys mostly kept Mahomes clean against a defense that set a Broncos record with 68 sacks a year ago. — ABC News, 14 Sep. 2026

According to On3’s Brett McMurphy, the rest of the big boys stack up as follows. — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 14 Sep. 2026

For the big boys, however, there is the pressure to remain at the top. — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026

The little ones usually jumped once, the medium-size fish twice, and the big boys three times. — Hank Bradshaw, Outdoor Life, 24 June 2026

Rhymes for the big boys

• counterpoise
• equipoise
• alloys
• annoys
• carboys
• convoys
• cowboys
• deploys
• destroys
• employes
• employs
• enjoys