Definition of mean business in US English:

phrase

• Be in earnest.

  ‘the border is sealed by troops who mean business’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Eight businesses were based in Michigan, seven in New York, nineteen in Colorado, and fifteen in Montana, showing that salmon mean business across the nation.’
  • ‘Google shifts focus to show it means business.’
  • ‘This team means business. We are not there to show off. We want to achieve something together.’
  • ‘The 100 British companies that are here today are hard evidence of the fact that Britain really does mean business.’
  • ‘Community colleges mean business.’