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Synonyms

big enchilada

American  
Sometimes top enchilada

noun

Slang.

  1. someone regarded as the most important, influential, or dominant person in an organization.

    The police are hoping to catch the syndicate's big enchilada in the next raid.
big enchilada Idioms  

  1. see under big cheese.

Etymology

Origin of big enchilada

First recorded in 1970–75; on the pattern of such expressions as big cheese, big wheel, etc.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He’s been dogged by the notion that he’s somehow too young for the big enchilada.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2025

“California is the big enchilada, so to speak,” Sanders said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2016

"That of course would be the big enchilada," said former U.S.

From Reuters • Oct. 2, 2011

The evening began with Missouri Congressman James Symington quipping, "We have been brought together by the big enchilada of the Democratic Party."

From Time Magazine Archive

Hustling through the throng comes the big enchilada himself: Brademas.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.