big wheel
Americannoun
noun
-
another name for a Ferris wheel
-
informal an important person
Etymology
Origin of big wheel
First recorded in 1905–10
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.
Sajak will not be its hub forever, but the whole point of the big wheel is to spin and spin and spin while staying in place.
From New York Times • Jun. 13, 2023
He says visitor numbers are currently looking good, partly due to the arrival of the big wheel.
From BBC • Jul. 24, 2021
Paramedics loaded the injured hiker into a big wheel stretcher and safely got him down the rest of the trail.
From Washington Times • Feb. 7, 2021
Kives’s road to becoming a big wheel in the Democratic money machine began in June 2001, when he was an undergraduate at Stanford.
From The Guardian • Mar. 3, 2020
If only Mr. Ferris would get busy and finish that big wheel.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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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.