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Synonyms

big fish

British  

noun

  1. an important or powerful person

  2. the most important or powerful person in a small group

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

She was a big fish in a small and comfortable pond.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

“There’s a lot of big fish on the lake,” said Paul Muche, scion of a family considered sturgeon-spearing royalty.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

The first arrests in connection with the scandal -- eight members of the country's Department of Public Works and Highways -- were announced only days ago, with the government promising "big fish are coming soon".

From Barron's • Nov. 30, 2025

García Luna was a big fish ready to be fried in Brooklyn.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 7, 2025

A whale looks like a big fish; Obama has been the subject of rumors about his religion; Nabokov was denied the Nobel Prize in Literature that many critics thought he deserved.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker