big boy

noun

Definition of big boynext
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group when she became the network's White House correspondent, she knew that she was now playing with the big boys

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of big boy That said, another part of me reckons LEGO set out its plan to make three sets — one small, one medium, and one big boy — and then worked backwards to figure out which Pokémon would fit into these grades. — Matt Gardner, Forbes.com, 1 Mar. 2026 Only little boys are called big boys. — Arkansas Online, 15 Jan. 2026 There are big boys throwing their weight around, and there are wild skinnies with flying arms and spinning back-kicks, chopping out their emergency version of personal space. — James Parker, The Atlantic, 16 Dec. 2025 The wins against the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs were not an accident, or luck; Williams has made a big boy impact. — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for big boy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for big boy
  1. heavyweight
  2. heavy
  3. big
  4. big gun
  5. major leaguer
  6. big leaguer
  7. heavy hitter
  8. big wheel
Noun
  • An Albanian heavyweight who stands six foot five and who has compiled a record of 20-1 with 20 knockouts.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026
  • The losses underscore how South Korea's retail investing culture has amplified swings in the country's technology heavyweights, even as analysts argue the long-term outlook for memory-chip makers remains intact.
    — Lee Ying Shan,Blair Baek, CNBC, 20 July 2026
Definition of heavyweight
Noun
  • Soon after Rhaenyra executes Otto Hightower, who was once mastermind of that family’s schemes, Ormund steps up to be the faction’s new heavy.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026
  • Shares of Meta are flat on the year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 is up 18%.
    — Oliver Renick, CNBC, 10 July 2026
Definition of heavy
Noun
  • Rushing has already endured several tests in his first full season in the bigs.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 18 July 2026
  • Data show those players have about an 11% chance to reach the bigs (compared to about 81% for those picked in the first round).
    — Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026
Definition of big
Noun
  • After England have raised a glass comes a three-match one-day international series this week when India will welcome back big guns including captain Shubman Gill and legends Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
    — Paul Newman, New York Times, 12 July 2026
  • Clinging to a one-run lead and with the top of the order due up, Tracy went to one of his big guns, calling in Whitlock to put out the fire.
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 24 May 2026
Definition of big gun
Noun
  • Now, his first game as a major leaguer in Philadelphia is set to be his biggest milestone yet.
    — Chilekasi Adele, CBS News, 13 July 2026
  • Should move quickly, more polished than their peers, a certain major leaguer, et cetera, et cetera.
    — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 12 July 2026
Definition of major leaguer
Noun
  • That was a gift from former Indy ball teammate and ex-big leaguer Matt Adams.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Around him was not a single big leaguer, minor leaguer, or anyone with a heater topping 90 miles per hour.
    — Sam Blum, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2026
Definition of big leaguer
Noun
  • This year’s heavy hitters include Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI’s chief executive officer Sam Altman, Reel Genius founder Victoria Grazer and Anthropic’s CEO Dario Amodei.
    — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 10 July 2026
  • The Odyssey cast is stacked with heavy hitters, but only one actor evoked the type of reaction that Christopher Nolan hadn’t seen since Heath Ledger and The Dark Knight.
    — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
Definition of heavy hitter
Noun
  • For all of its strengths, my one wish for the Weber Kettle is better wheel nuts holding the big wheels in place.
    — Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 17 May 2026
  • Denali versions aim for gloss, chrome, big wheels and illuminated badging, while the AT4 gets the tougher costume - 35-inch allou-terrain tires, red recovery hooks, extra ground clearance and a more trail-minded stance flavor.
    — Josh Max, Forbes.com, 6 May 2026
Definition of big wheel

Browse Nearby Words

big boxes
big boy
big boys
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Big boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/big%20boy. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on big boy

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about big boy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stalwart

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
thumbnail graphic with text word of the day quiz
Weekly "Word of the Day" Quiz See how well you know each Word of the Day for Ju...
See All