big-time

big time

1. adverb A lot; in a significant manner. You owe me big time for driving you to the airport at 4 AM! We're going to need to catch up big time if we want a chance to win.
2. noun A status or situation involving a lot of fame or success. Exclusively preceded by "the." Though she'd been acting for years, it was after her role in last summer's blockbuster that she finally hit the big time.
3. adjective Prominent or significant. Usually hyphenated. Though she'd been acting for years, it was her role in last summer's blockbuster that turned her into a big-time star.
See also: big, time
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

big-time

verb
See big time
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • big time
  • big time, the
  • the big time
  • Big D
  • big-D
  • do something in a big/small way
  • in a big way
  • make big
  • make it big
  • be (not) big on (something)
References in periodicals archive
Who really coddles the big-time drug lords in this country?
As consolation the big-time dealers allow for some kind of 'resecada' or a percentage of reduction from the selling price due to possible damage and wilting, the net of which will be the amount the market retailers pay.
But Ramsden insisted: "James is the total opposite of a Billy big-time.
"The issue is fallouts from big-time (college) sports, or for that matter benefits from big-time sports," Waddell said.
"One, big-time college athletics has become an integral function of many American universities and, because of its popularity, it holds tremendous commercial potential for advertisers, television networks, and universities," he relates.
So it's quite ironic that the bubbly Scholars boss should have to spend the build up to the match at pains to point out that his heroic club are not 'Big-time Charlies'.
How To Deal Distract yourself with some big-time fun.
But at the Harley Race Wrestling Academy in Eldon, Mo., students are willing to pay up to $3,000 for six months of this bruising instruction in hopes of someday starring in the glitzy world of big-time televised wrestling.
The Muska is rumored to have some sort of big-time deal with a mainstream brand, while Allie may be making the short trip up to San Clemente.
Magnets are big-time materials, finding roles in products ranging from motors to medical-imaging systems.
COACH: Illinois among other "big-time" schools have courted you.
The Chilly Beach crew hit the big-time last year after six years of producing episodes exclusively on their Web site.
Jay Cox, who proved he could wow us big-time with his script for the 2002 Reese Witherspoon hit film Sweet Home Alabama.
DAVID MOYES will face an FA rap after an astonishing rant against Jeff Winter in which he dubbed the Stockton referee a 'big-time homer'.
Here's a little piece of advice that might pay off big-time one day: Make sure every student on your campus has a memorable college experience, and never neglect your alumni.