How to Use the big boys in a Sentence

the big boys

plural noun
  • Let’s put aside the big boys for a moment.
    — Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 13 May 2026
  • Maybe Game 7 is the stage the big boys need.
    — John Romano, The Orlando Sentinel, 2 May 2026
  • That doesn't mean that Clemons has never played with the big boys.
    — Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 19 Mar. 2025
  • To hang with the big boys, the consumer must play a pivotal role.
    — Cedric Golden, Austin American Statesman, 8 Feb. 2026
  • And there's going to be 20% that you guys have got to be the big boys, right?
    — Greg Engle, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
  • For the big boys at the top, this sounds a lot like college basketball.
    — David Ubben, New York Times, 21 May 2026
  • As for the ecosystem choice, that’s a business model only for the big boys.
    — Vinod Jain, Forbes, 4 May 2023
  • The little ones usually jumped once, the medium-size fish twice, and the big boys three times.
    — Hank Bradshaw, Outdoor Life, 24 June 2026
  • The Padres have shown no hesitancy spending with the big boys.
    — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2023
  • But, like in many games this season, the relegation certs caused one of the big boys problems.
    — Michael Cox, New York Times, 25 May 2026
  • The other nations can never progress or test themselves without taking on the big boys.
    — Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 9 Aug. 2025
  • Thus, many schools who cannot afford to compete in the big boys’ stratosphere, will be willing to dive off the pay-for-play cliff.
    — Donna Lopiano, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
  • Nelemans maintains that his company has developed a use case all its own, one that the big boys would sneer at.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 4 Jan. 2018
  • All of their players that are good enough to play at Power 4 schools will just end up being poached by the big boys.
    — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Regardless of backing by the big boys, Schweitzer still has plenty of bragging rights.
    — Marlise Kast-Myers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Oct. 2023
  • Obfuscation, workarounds, and overspends would no longer be backstage levers for the big boys to pull.
    — Greg O'Keeffe, The Athletic, 24 Apr. 2024
  • But the Saints, under coach Ron Gladnick, wanted to stay with the big boys.
    — John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2023
  • There won’t be another round of invitations to the big boys’ table.
    — Chris Vannini, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2026
  • Tien was a lean and soft 17-year-old who had spent the previous two years figuring out how to hang with the big boys.
    — Matthew Futterman, The Athletic, 15 Jan. 2025
  • The Celtics have taken lighter opponents lightly but always are prepared against the big boys.
    — Gary Washburn, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Mar. 2023
  • The table is closer than ever; promoted teams jumping from their seats and bloodying the big boys.
    — Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025
  • 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
  • So, for Season 4, Shepherd comes out and does a four- to six-minute comedic monologue — the way the big boys do in late night.
    — Rosemary Rossi, Variety, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Rather than draft a bunch of skill players who fit the McDaniel offense, invest on the big boys who make said offense thrive.
    — C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025
  • 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
  • One of the many criticisms of Berhalter was his inability to compete with the big boys in world soccer.
    — Alex Tabet, NBC News, 14 Sep. 2024
  • The club’s raw materials might not match up well with the big boys, but their connective tissue is incredibly strong.
    — Tony Blengino, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Add returning running back Dane Dunn and Sierra Canyon is ready to take on the big boys this fall.
    — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2023
  • There’s broad agreement that part of what makes the basketball tournament great is the ability of small underdogs to break through against the big boys.
    — Eddie Pells, Chicago Tribune, 15 Jan. 2025
  • Until the Giants can beat out the big boys for a marquee free agent — purely with a checkbook and a pitch — the reputation will stick.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 9 Dec. 2025

Some of 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.

Last Updated: