Big ones is casual American slang for dollars — specifically hundreds or thousands of them, depending on context. When someone says 'that'll cost you ten big ones,' they mean ten thousand dollars. The phrase has a cinematic, old-school gangster or deal-making energy to it, and it pops up in negotiations, boasts about winnings, and dramatic recounts of big purchases. It's plurale tantum — you always say 'big ones,' never 'a big one' in this sense.
He walked away from the poker table up fifteen big ones and went straight to the hotel bar to celebrate.
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(US, slang, plurale tantum) dollars.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.