bigwig
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
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
Explanation
A bigwig is a very important person — in fact, you might call her a VIP. One bigwig at a university is its president, and the main bigwig in state government is typically the governor. If you're a bigwig in the world of competitive chess, you are a well-known and respected player. A government bigwig is a person with a good deal of power and influence, and a corporate bigwig might own an enormous company. This word dates from the 18th century, when powerful, distinguished men tended to wear large, impressive wigs.
Vocabulary lists containing bigwig
Auggie & Me
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Internment
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Everything on a Waffle
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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.
Park City, Utah, 2007: A friend who was a bigwig at Lehman Brothers invited me to give a short talk on Wall Street trends and then ski with a group of investors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
“I always thought ‘The Goonies’ deserved a sequel,” a Monarch bigwig will sniff ironically when the youngsters set off on a mad mission; but people do love “The Goonies.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 16, 2023
He kept in contact with White House officials and some bigwig journalists on a group Slack channel.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2023
At the bigwig donor function on the Belle, Marty, Wendy, Charlotte, Jonah and Ruth are all dressed in their finest which, in this context, looks like they're dressed for a funeral.
From Salon ● May 6, 2022
Mom’s always been kind of a bigwig at school.
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
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.
