Definition
A very important figure, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.
Origins
From big + cheese (“wealth, fame, importance”). Earliest use to mean importance from 1910.
In Context
- "He’ll be meeting with the big cheese first thing tomorrow, to present his proposal."
- "I know. But it's his ship now, his command; he's in charge, he's the boss, the head man, the top dog, the big cheese, the head honcho, number one..."
- "If not for all these bills and taxes, our income would more than suffice. I feel like a real big cheese, until everybody takes a slice!"
Also Said As
- baron
- big cheese
- big enchilada
- big gun
- big kahuna
- big man
- big name
- big noise
- big shot
- bigwig
- big wheel
- boss
- grand poobah
- head honcho
- heavy hitter
- heavyweight
- high muckamuck
- high muckety-muck
- king of all one surveys
- king of the castle
- king of the hill
- kingpin
- macher
- mayor
- muckamuck
- muckety muck
- mugwump
- numero uno
- poobah
- rooster
- somebody
- top banana
- top boy
- top cat
- top dog
- top gun
- very important person
- VIP
- wheel