big cheese

American  

[big cheez] / ˈbɪg ˈtʃiz /

noun

Slang.

1. an influential or important person.

   Who's the big cheese around here?

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big cheese British  

noun

1. slang an important person

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big cheese Idioms  

1. Also,. An important, powerful person; the boss. For example, She loved being the big cheese of her company; the big guns in Congress are bound to change the President's bill; you'd better not act like a big shot among your old friends; Harry was the big wheel in his class; and You'll have to get permission from the big enchilada. The first term dates from the late 1800s and its origin is disputed. Some think it comes from the Urdu word chiz or cheez for “thing,” but others hold it plays on the English word “chief.” Big gun is much older, dating from the early 1800s; big shot became very popular in the late 1920s, particularly when used for underworld leaders of gangsters; big wheel dates from about the same period. Big enchilada, often put as the big enchilada, is the newest, dating from the early 1970s.

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Etymology

Origin of big cheese

First recorded in 1910–15; perhaps from cheese ³ ( def. ) in the sense “person or thing that is first-rate.” Big cheese is a development from the earlier American term main cheese “important or self-important person” (1899), but it was also influenced by cheese ¹ ( def. ) in the sense “wheel or cylinder of the dairy food.” In the 19th century huge wheels of cheese were displayed at state and county fairs and as publicity stunts; the idiom “to cut a big cheese,” meaning “to look or act important,” dates from 1919, 20 years later than main cheese

Example Sentences

He was described as "the big cheese" in the NHS telecoms department.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2025

You can be this week’s big cheese with a high score on the Slate News Quiz.

From Slate • Sep. 13, 2024

I still think Philipp Grubauer’s their big cheese and everything will be done to ensure he’s successful.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 20, 2023

“With this decision, you can make a little cheese, a big cheese, a hard cheese, a processed cheese — and you can give the name ‘gruyère’ for all types of cheese.”

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2022

Bonello sliced a big cheese on the heavy kitchen table.

From "A Farewell To Arms" by Ernest Hemingway