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
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Recent Examples of big boy
Inevitable imperfections The above is no disrespect to SMU, which unquestionably has had a fantastic initial season in the ACC, or Boise State, which has long been a non-power conference machine that often has shown it not only can play with big boys, but beat them as well.
—
Tom Layberger, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Besides the first day of KHSAA state football finals on Friday, there was a big boys basketball tilt involving No. 4 Male and No. 3 Trinity.
—Rich Barak, The Courier-Journal, 7 Dec. 2024
One thing Green Bay hasn't done, though, is beat the NFL’s big boys.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
They get penalized for playing a big boy schedule while schools like Notre Dame play a JV schedule EVERYY year.
—Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for big boy 
Tom Layberger, Forbes, 9 Dec. 2024
Besides the first day of KHSAA state football finals on Friday, there was a big boys basketball tilt involving No. 4 Male and No. 3 Trinity.
—Rich Barak, The Courier-Journal, 7 Dec. 2024
One thing Green Bay hasn't done, though, is beat the NFL’s big boys.
—Rob Reischel, Forbes, 5 Dec. 2024
They get penalized for playing a big boy schedule while schools like Notre Dame play a JV schedule EVERYY year.
—Stewart Mandel, The Athletic, 21 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for big boy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for big boy
Noun
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Another Hollywood heavy was Marlon Brando, who gave Jackson acting advice.—
Jordan Runtagh,
People.com,
4 Jan. 2025
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Late one night, the heavies from the local don throw a few bricks through the window of an honest shopkeeper.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Minnesota countered with only two bigs in Dawson Garcia (6-11) and Parker Fox (6-8).—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
9 Feb. 2025
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In its broadest scope, the Wizards’ decision over the summer to sign Valančiūnas provided some instant offense, some defensive rebounding and some cover for Sarr to avoid getting shoved around by some of the league’s most physical bigs.—
The Athletic NBA Staff,
The Athletic,
5 Feb. 2025
Noun
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When Knight’s phone rings with a check-in from Parker, Arturo threatens them all with his big gun.—
Sara Netzley,
EW.com,
28 Jan. 2025
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Reports also suggest the Switch 2 will be a significant graphical step up from its aging 2017 predecessor, perhaps even getting close to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Of course, the most important thing is the games, and Nintendo has some big guns to roll out.—
Lewis Gordon,
Vulture,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Gouda originates in the Netherlands and is a relatively niche cheese compared with heavy hitters like cheddar in the US or paneer in India, The Verge points out.—
Emily Forlini,
PCMAG,
7 Feb. 2025
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Zoom in: Some of the closures last year took out heavy hitters in the industry.—
Kale Williams,
Axios,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
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One of the teachers at Abbott, Jacob (played by Chris Perfetti), paid homage to Sajak with his costume, which even included a big wheel.—
Kayla Caldwell,
Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2024
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The original penny-farthing bicycle had a big wheel up front with a smaller one out at the back, and was also known as a high-wheel cycle.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Oct. 2024
Noun
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One of the new exhibits includes a 23-acre African savanna featuring rhinos, giraffes, cheetahs and lions, according to past reporting.—
Emma Hall,
Sacramento Bee,
13 Feb. 2025
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So the legislature directed the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to look into mule deer herds and rewrite lion plans in any deer areas with high lion predation.—
Christine Peterson,
Outdoor Life,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But a big cheese board affords the chance for people to try something new.—
Betty Hallock,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Dec. 2024
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Simply Cheetos White Cheddar Puffs These light-colored curls have big cheese flavor, a satisfying crunch and a tart kick that is dangerously delicious.—
Jolene Thym,
The Mercury News,
4 June 2024
Noun
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But what if fat cats’ feet could be held to the fire?—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
16 Jan. 2025
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Namely, many ordinary Indians apparently took enormous glee at the prospect that the sudden invalidation of high-denomination currency notes would put fat cats with large cash holdings in a bind.—
Milan Vaishnav,
Foreign Affairs,
15 Mar. 2017
Thesaurus Entries Near big boy
Cite this Entry
“Big boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/big%20boy. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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