big kahuna
4
9.5
- noun
- /bɪg kəˈhuːnə/
- Slang
:
gran jefe
- Roy Yamaguchi is the big kahuna of Hawaiian-style cuisine.
And then we have the Wants palette, which this is the big kahuna.
- And then we have the Wants palette, which this is the big kahuna.
Examples
-
What that means is he's the big kahuna in charge of this whole thing.
-
So you have your small, your medium and your big kahuna and all of these.
-
"You're the daughter of the big kahuna."
Fiction book (2000) -
He's the big kahuna, the leader of the crew.
Synonyms
508
1.0
The most important person or thing in a field
126
4.0
A very important and influential person in a field
91
3.9
A person who is important and powerful in a job or field
57
4.5
A person, team, or organization that is very successful and able to influence others
43
3.5
A famous and important person or group in one area
37
3.8
An important person who is treated as successful or powerful
35
6.8
A very important event, thing, or person that matters a lot
33
7.0
The most important person who controls a group or activity
29
3.8
A person or company that has a lot of power in a field
22
6.9
An important person with power in a company or group
16
2.5
A person with great power or status who gets special treatment
14
3.6
An important person in a group or organization who has power
12
4.9
A person who has a lot of power and influence in a field
9
5.1
An important person with power in a company or field
8
9.9
An expert respected as a leader in a certain area
8
5.3
A person who is very important in a group or company
4
7.5
A very large, strong, or important person like a leader
2
7.4
A very large and powerful person or company that beats others easily
2
6.7
A person who is very important and powerful in a group
1
8.1
An important person who makes key decisions for a group
1
7.5
A person who is in charge of a group and makes the main decisions
1
5.5
An important person in a small group who has more power than elsewhere
1
7.7
The most important person in a group or organization
1
8.5
An important person who influences government or culture
1
8.6
A person who has a lot of influence or authority in a field
1
8.6
An important person with power in a group or area
1
8.9
An important person in charge who people call jokingly
1
5.6
An important person who has a lot of power in a group
1
8.2
A very large and powerful company or group that dominates its field
A person who is the most important leader in a field
A joking name for a person who has great power in a group
Antonyms
How Important
- Literature
33
7.0
- Slang
9
6.3
- Slang
4
9.5
- Informal
22
6.9
5
4.1
- Offensive
14
5.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning ‘an important or influential person’ is directly derivable from combining 'big' (an intensifier meaning large/important) with 'kahuna' (an expert or leader), so the phrase is compositionally predictable as the top or most prominent person. Although 'kahuna' is a Hawaiian loanword culturally marked, if a learner knows both constituents the combined sense is transparent and immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
Big kahuna comes from the Hawaiian word kahuna, which named a respected priest or expert, and adding 'big' showed the very top person. That's why big kahuna now means 'an important or powerful person'.