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
Ampersand, a Fort Worth coffee shop, has beat out the big boys in the cafe game — name brands like Starbucks, Pete’s, and Dunkin’ — for a coveted corner of the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport concourse.
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Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2024
Among the triple-nominees, freshman artist Moroney is the only one not to have been nominated for video of the year, but her nods in other categories put her up there with the big boys and girls.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024
There’s still a lot that’s unknown about the R3, but if the R2 is meant to compete with the big boys like the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, then the R3 looks more like a rival to the Korean EVs, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 7 Mar. 2024
The speed-run from sly, in-good-fun riff on merchandising to full-scale cooptation from the big boys has been incredible.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See all Example Sentences for the big boys 
Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Mar. 2024
Among the triple-nominees, freshman artist Moroney is the only one not to have been nominated for video of the year, but her nods in other categories put her up there with the big boys and girls.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024
There’s still a lot that’s unknown about the R3, but if the R2 is meant to compete with the big boys like the Tesla Model Y and Ford Mustang Mach-E, then the R3 looks more like a rival to the Korean EVs, like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6.
—Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 7 Mar. 2024
The speed-run from sly, in-good-fun riff on merchandising to full-scale cooptation from the big boys has been incredible.
—Gary Baum, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See all Example Sentences for the big boys
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the big boys.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“The big boys.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20big%20boys. Accessed 26 Jul. 2024.
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