the big time
noun phrase
: the highest or most successful level of an activity
He was a good basketball player but he never made (it to) the big time.
The group performed in small clubs for years before hitting the big time with a record deal.
Examples of the big time in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As the playoffs heat up in the WNBA and MLB, the big time performers are coming out to play.
—
Johannes Sasay-Wada, CNN, 7 Oct. 2024
Willems discusses how kids can use their imagination to understand their place.
4:14
ABCNews.com
Award-winning author and illustrator Mo Willems' creative spark elevated him to the big time among children's book creators, but his latest work takes us into teeny-weeny territory.
—Abc News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2024
Josh's parents soon grow accustomed to living with an enormous scaly beast, and things are further enlivened by the arrival of Lyle's former owner Hector (Javier Bardem), an eccentric showman who still hopes to hit the big time with the tuneful reptile.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 20 July 2024
That movie is coming up later in this list, but their second pairing, Tin Cup, is also pretty darn terrific, once again casting Costner as a coulda-been star who never quite made the big time.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for the big time 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Johannes Sasay-Wada, CNN, 7 Oct. 2024
Willems discusses how kids can use their imagination to understand their place.
4:14
ABCNews.com
Award-winning author and illustrator Mo Willems' creative spark elevated him to the big time among children's book creators, but his latest work takes us into teeny-weeny territory.
—Abc News, ABC News, 2 Aug. 2024
Josh's parents soon grow accustomed to living with an enormous scaly beast, and things are further enlivened by the arrival of Lyle's former owner Hector (Javier Bardem), an eccentric showman who still hopes to hit the big time with the tuneful reptile.
—Danny Horn, EW.com, 20 July 2024
That movie is coming up later in this list, but their second pairing, Tin Cup, is also pretty darn terrific, once again casting Costner as a coulda-been star who never quite made the big time.
—Will Leitch, Vulture, 27 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for the big time
Dictionary Entries Near the big time
Cite this Entry
“The big time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20big%20time. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share