bigwig

American  

[big-wig] / ˈbɪgˌwɪg /

noun

Informal.

1. an important person, especially an official.

   senators and other political bigwigs.

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bigwig British  

/ ˈbɪɡˌwɪɡ /

noun

1. informal an important person

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Other Word Forms

• bigwigged adjective
• bigwiggedness noun

Etymology

Origin of bigwig

First recorded in 1725–35; rhyming compound from phrase big wig, i.e., person important enough to wear such a wig

Example Sentences

Stewart’s wild, shivering vibrato sliced through layers of fiddle and pedal steel, eventually grabbing the attention of Nashville bigwigs, including Roy Dea, a Texas-born record producer who would become one of Stewart’s loyal supporters.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Playing God” is what law-firm and investment-bank bigwigs used to call their task jokingly, when voting each year on a new class of partners.

From The Wall Street Journal

When Hollywood bigwigs face trouble, Alan Jackson is often their first call.

From The Wall Street Journal

A crowd of CEOs, diplomats, media bigwigs and celebrities from all over the world poured through the entryways like a stream overflowing its banks.

From The Wall Street Journal

These fat-pocketed bigwigs must roam the Hollywood Hills peering up at the sky covered in storm clouds, hoping that they’ll catch the fateful electric spark in their glass vials.

From Salon

Related Words

• mogul