What does 大手 mean?
大手 is a Japanese noun meaning “major company; big company” in English. It can also be translated as “front castle gate, force attacking the front of a castle” depending on context. It is written as 大手 in kanji, おおて in hiragana, and oote in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N2 vocabulary.
Example sentence
どの大手のデパートも売上が落ちてきた。
Sales have dropped off at every big department store.