big gun

noun

: one having preeminent status or power in a field

Synonyms

• big
• big boy
• big cheese
• big leaguer
• big shot
• big wheel
• big-timer
• bigfoot
• biggie
• bigwig
• fat cat
• heavy
• heavy hitter
• heavyweight
• high-muck-a-muck
• high-muckety-muck
• honcho
• kahuna
• kingfish
• kingpin
• major leaguer
• muckety-muck
• muck-a-muck
• mucky-muck
• nabob
• nawab
• nibs
• nob [chiefly British]
• pooh-bah
• poo-bah
• wheel

Examples of big gun in a Sentence

for a high-profile case like this, the law firm uses only its big guns

Recent Examples on the Web

From there, this group take on up the stairs in search of The Front Man and his charges, with the episode turning into one big gun fight, centered largely around what appears to be a Barbie dream house if it was designed by M. C. Escher. —Peter White, Deadline, 26 Dec. 2024

First, John Beecher iced the puck from the neutral zone and the Stars were able to get some of their big guns on the ice. —Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 14 Nov. 2024

There’s tons of in-your-face werewolf action, big guns and lots of blood and guts in this throwback flick that would feel right at home in a drive-in double feature. —William Earl, Variety, 6 Dec. 2024

Los Angeles scored against Colorado’s top line, but the Avs’ big guns got that one back at 3:40 of the period. —Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 13 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above