movers and shakers

plural noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of movers and shakers¹

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.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

When plans for the museum in Benin City were first announced in 2019, the movers and shakers on Nigeria's art scene hoped it would become their natural home - a state-of-the-art complex to show them off to the world.

Read more on BBC

On the other a cohort of former players and established movers and shakers within the game who have become frustrated at a sport's perceived inability to grow, and who promise big financial backing.

Read more on BBC

Other movers and shakers in the Martian movement included French astronomer and philosopher Camille Flammarion, who brought missionary zeal to the task of convincing the world of extraterrestrial life; and Giovanni Schiaparelli, the colorblind Italian astronomer who observed “an abundance of narrow streaks” on Mars “that appeared to connect the seas one to another.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Reema Maya, a young filmmaker, says her membership of the house in Mumbai - a city "where one is always jostling for space and a quiet corner in a cramped cafe" - has given her rare access to the movers and shakers of Mumbai's film industry - which might otherwise have been impossible for someone like her "without generational privilege".

Read more on BBC