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

This explains that, despite the fierce competition, Spotify’s U.S. market share has steadily increased over the past three years, capturing market shares from big guns like Apple and Amazon, a feat deemed unlikely by many analysts. —Ken Berman, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024

Saturday Night Live brought out some big guns to kick off its 50th season, which coincides with a major presidential election. —Jillian Sederholm, EW.com, 29 Sep. 2024

Out on the open ocean, naval conflicts would continue to be settled by fleet actions of armored battleships engaging each other with big guns. —David Hambling, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024

But turning to the big men with big guns to solve one’s problems comes with a cost. —Timothy Frye, Foreign Affairs, 26 Feb. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above