big fish eat little fish

proverb

Bigger animals, people, and companies tend to eliminate, or at least dominate, those that are smaller.

OriginChinese 大魚吃小魚 /大鱼吃小鱼 →
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Meanings

proverb
  1. Bigger animals, people, and companies tend to eliminate, or at least dominate, those that are smaller.

Origin

  1. Chinese大魚吃小魚 /大鱼吃小鱼
  2. Englishbig fish eat little fish

Calque of Chinese 大魚吃小魚 /大鱼吃小鱼 (dà yú chī xiǎo yú)

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

big fish eat little fish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20fish%20eat%20little%20fish

MLA

“big fish eat little fish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20fish%20eat%20little%20fish. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “big fish eat little fish,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20fish%20eat%20little%20fish.

Source: big fish eat little fish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.