heavy hitter
15
4.9
- noun
- /ˈhɛvi ˈhɪtər/
- Informal
- With heavy hitters like the Feathersons on our side, it's going to be a cinch.
- Hollywood heavy hitters
- pretty heavy hitter
- such heavy hitters
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Watch on YouTubeAlexander is a major heavy hitter, philosopher, theologian.
- Alexander is a major heavy hitter, philosopher, theologian.
- He wants to assassinate judges, prosecutors, heavy hitters in the Democratic Party, senators.
- One of the huge heavy hitters who would later on have.
- We love you brother King and the heavy hitter DJ crew.
- So you understand you're on a show and you got heavy hitters.
Examples
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It's not always easy these days to keep up with the academic heavy-hitters.
Fiction book (1995) -
The company invited several heavy hitters from the tech industry to speak at the conference.
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OK, all right, I got to bring out my heavy hitters over here.
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OK, but how many, how many heavy hitters are there at this level?
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These guys must be pretty heavy hitters to pull this off.
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A firm like yours must have some heavy hitters on call.
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I heard you boys were the heavy hitters in town.
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There are also some notable heavy hitters; here are just a few we caught:
Blog text (2) -
Alexander is a major heavy hitter, philosopher, theologian.
-
That's a decent number, and it includes support from heavy hitters like Netflix, Evernote, and Amazon.
Blog text (25)
Synonyms
100
2.5
An important person who is well known in a field
91
3.5
A famous and important person or group in one area
79
3.9
A person who is important and powerful in a job or field
58
4.5
A person, team, or organization that is very successful and able to influence others
54
6.7
A person who is very important and powerful in a group
37
6.8
A very important event, thing, or person that matters a lot
34
7.0
The most important person who controls a group or activity
34
3.8
A person or company that has a lot of power in a field
32
5.1
An important person with power in a company or field
29
3.6
An important person in a group or organization who has power
26
4.0
A very important and influential person in a field
25
3.8
An important person who is treated as successful or powerful
23
3.5
A person who has great power or influence in a field
17
6.9
An important person with power in a company or group
16
8.1
An important person who makes key decisions for a group
10
5.3
A person who is very important in a group or company
8
7.5
A very large, strong, or important person like a leader
8
9.5
A very important person in a group or organization, often the most powerful
2
5.6
An important person who has a lot of power in a group
1
8.6
An important person with power in a group or area
1
3.8
A person or thing that is very famous and successful, often in entertainment
1
8.6
A person who has a lot of influence or authority in a field
1
6.1
A professional who works at the top level in their field
A very large and powerful company or group that dominates its field
Antonyms
How Powerful
- Literature
16
7.0
- Informal
15
4.9
18
3.2
5
4.1
4
6.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
heavy + hitter
The components 'heavy' (large/intense) and 'hitter' (one who hits or an occurrence) give a partial clue—suggesting something that 'hits hard' or occurs a lot—but the established senses (an influential person or, in computing, a very frequent item) are metaphorical and domain-specific. A B1 learner who knows the words might infer a sense of intensity or frequency but would not reliably derive the precise idiomatic or technical meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
The noun heavy hitter comes from boxing. A hitter who is heavy lands very strong punches, so that image came to mean someone 'very powerful' or 'important' in a field.