nabob

American  

[ney-bob] / ˈneɪ bɒb /

noun

1. any very wealthy, influential, or powerful person.

2. Also a person, especially a European, who has made a large fortune in India or another country of the East.

3. nawab.

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nabob British  

/ ˈneɪbɒbərɪ, neɪˈbɒbərɪ, ˈneɪbɒb /

noun

1. informal a rich, powerful, or important man

2. (formerly) a European who made a fortune in the Orient, esp in India

3. another name for a nawab

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Other Word Forms

• nabobery noun
• nabobical adjective
• nabobically adverb
• nabobish adjective
• nabobishly adverb
• nabobism noun
• nabobship noun

Etymology

Origin of nabob

From the Hindi word nawāb, dating back to 1605–15. See nawab

Example Sentences

His work quickly made him controversial among civic boosters, who dismissed him as a negative nabob who didn’t want the city to thrive.

From Los Angeles Times

This oilman here was not a nabob like Doheny, but his L.A. oil scandal was going on at the same time.

From Los Angeles Times

The vice president had a reputation for being President Nixon’s attack dog and skewering political opponents as “nattering nabobs of negativism,” “vicars of vacillation” and “pusillanimous pussyfooters.”

From Seattle Times

Lauck assigns most of the blame for this attitude to scholarly nabobs like Carl Van Doren, who led a “revolt from the village” sentiment that characterized the region as suffused with retrograde Babbittry.

From Washington Post

This doesn’t sound like a con artist or a relentlessly negative nabob.

From Washington Post