movers and shakers

British  

plural noun

1. informal the people with power and influence in a particular field of activity

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Etymology

Origin of movers and shakers

C20: perhaps from the line ``We are the movers and shakers of the world for ever'' in `Ode' by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1844–81), British poet

Example Sentences

That said, the big names here—Andy Warhol, Francesco Clemente, Jean-Michel Basquiat and many others—provide a superlative entrée to the movers and shakers of the period.

From The Wall Street Journal

In their late teens, Ms. Walls and her siblings escaped one by one to set up a new life in New York — only to be followed by their parents, who ended up living as squatters in the East Village as Ms. Walls covered the city’s movers and shakers.

From New York Times

He harboured parliamentary ambitions which were never realised but eventually he was made a life peer and delighted in entertaining leading society figures, as well as the movers and shakers in the Labour Party.

From BBC

Admiring yesteryear’s musical movers and shakers can feel bittersweet when all of that moving and shaking remains fixed in the amber of history.

From Washington Post

Sriram Krishnan and Aarthi Ramamurthy are the well-connected husband-and-wife hosts of “The Good Time Show,” arguably the most influential show on the social audio app Clubhouse, at least among Silicon Valley movers and shakers.

From New York Times