honcho

American  

[hon-choh] / ˈhɒn tʃoʊ /

noun

plural

honchos

1. a leader, especially an assertive leader; chief.

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verb (used with object)

1. to organize, supervise, or be the leader of.

   She volunteered to honcho the new project.

honcho British  

/ ˈhɒntʃəʊ /

noun

1. the person in charge; the boss

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verb

1. to supervise or be in charge of

Etymology

Origin of honcho

First recorded in 1945–50; from Japanese hanchō “squad or group leader,” equivalent to han “squad” (from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese bān “group”) + -chō “eldest, chief”

Explanation

A honcho is the person who's in charge. The "head honcho" in your office probably bosses everyone else around. Honcho is an informal word that was coined in the United States in the 1940s to mean "officer in charge," becoming especially popular with U.S. soldiers during the Korean War. Honcho comes from a Japanese word for "group leader," hancho, from han, "corps or squad," and cho, "head or chief." These days, the CEO of a company is as likely to be called a honcho as an Army general.

Example Sentences

Finally, Mr. Reiner prevailed upon Norman Lear—once his boss on “All in the Family,” then the head honcho of Embassy Pictures—to provide backing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

The band jumped over to the Sony Music label B1, whose head honcho is Wolfgang Boss - one of the first people to champion Clean Bandit back in the 2010s.

From BBC • Aug. 20, 2024

Pecker’s testimony was completely confirmed later on in the trial by Cohen, though he came off as a far less credible witness than the National Enquirer honcho.

From Slate • May 29, 2024

He would be named head honcho simply because he is a great co-host.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2024

“Not in a million years. You just called the head honcho cheii. He’s gonna treat you like his grandchild.”

From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young