heavy hitter

American  

noun

1. a baseball player who makes many extra-base hits.

2. a very important or influential person.

   the secretary of state and other heavy hitters.

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heavy hitter British  

noun

1. informal another term for big hitter

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heavy hitter Idioms  

1. An important or influential individual or organization. For example, This publishing house is one of the heavy hitters in the textbook industry. This expression originated in sports such as boxing, where it literally meant “hitting hard,” and was transferred to other enterprises in the mid-1900s.

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Other Word Forms

• heavy-hitter
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of heavy hitter

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

heavy hitter

What's absolutely fascinating about this game is the options that Clarke has and the way he's talking about the utilisation of his bench, hinting that he might keep a heavy hitter in reserve.

From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026

Google’s strength in search makes it a heavy hitter in the lucrative advertising market, its biggest revenue source.

From Reuters ● Oct. 30, 2023

Dubois is a heavy hitter, even if he lacks speed.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 24, 2023

The Prunus genus is a heavy hitter, comprised of: plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2023

If I really was the heavy hitter I'm advertisin' myself to be I wouldn't condescend to take you on, would I?

From The She Boss A Western Story by Hankins, Arthur Preston