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

The financial crisis of 2008 certainly left the big boys in good shape and many of the rest of us barely holding on. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 30 Oct. 2026

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

Rhymes for the big boys

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