big fish
Britishnoun
-
an important or powerful person
-
the most important or powerful person in a small group
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.
For much of its 115-year history, Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool was the big fish of appliance makers, gobbling up rivals from Argentina to Poland.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Iya Trinidad, a 25-year-old activist among the protesters, slammed the pace of investigations, saying "no big fish have been caught".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Now Strike 3 appears to have hooked a big fish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
She was a big fish in a small and comfortable pond.
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2026
So I got to head out tonight and be there when the sun comes up, ready to strike the first big fish that rises.
From "The Young Man and the Sea" by Rodman Philbrick
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.
