the big guns

plural noun

informal
: the most powerful people, companies, organizations, etc.
They called in the big guns to deal with the problem.

Examples of the big guns in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
And then there are the big guns. — Jada Yuan, Vulture, 14 Mar. 2026 Alphabet probably has more ways to win than any of the big guns in this market. — Kevin Stankiewicz,alexa Lomonaco, CNBC, 16 Apr. 2026 Its staff spent years painstakingly cleaning the big guns and coating them in paint and wax to prevent rusting and corrosion. — CBS News, 4 June 2026 The Celestron Firstscope is perfect for just seeing what's out there, and bringing out the big guns if need be. — Chris McMullen, Space.com, 28 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for the big guns

Rhymes for the big guns

See All Rhymes for the big guns

Browse Nearby Words

the big enchilada
the big guns
the big house
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“The big guns.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20big%20guns. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
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 tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
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
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All