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.
—
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
The Golden Globes 2024 might go down as the night that the big boys of Hollywood took back control.
—Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2024
Just four times in the 33-year history of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic has a San Diego County team claimed the championship of the National Division — where the big boys play.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2023
The most frightening part is how a program like San Diego State tries to trade punches with the big boys.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2023
Regardless of backing by the big boys, Schweitzer still has plenty of bragging rights.
—Marlise Kast-Myers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2023
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
The Golden Globes 2024 might go down as the night that the big boys of Hollywood took back control.
—Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 8 Jan. 2024
Just four times in the 33-year history of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic has a San Diego County team claimed the championship of the National Division — where the big boys play.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Dec. 2023
The most frightening part is how a program like San Diego State tries to trade punches with the big boys.
—Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Dec. 2023
Regardless of backing by the big boys, Schweitzer still has plenty of bragging rights.
—Marlise Kast-Myers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2023
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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Cite this Entry
“The big boys.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20big%20boys. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
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