Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

big cheese

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.54 in modern English

Syllables: big cheese
IPA

17

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

1

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A very important figure, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.

Dated

Example Sentences

"He’ll be meeting with the big cheese first thing tomorrow, to present his proposal."
"I know. But it's his ship now, his command; he's in charge, he's the boss, the head man, the top dog, the big cheese, the head honcho, number one..."
"If not for all these bills and taxes, our income would more than suffice. I feel like a real big cheese, until everybody takes a slice!"

Etymology

From big + cheese (“wealth, fame, importance”). Earliest use to mean importance from 1910.

Usage

Dated

Inflected Forms

big cheeses (plural)

Phrases

grand fromage

Synonyms

baron big cheese big enchilada big gun big kahuna big man big name big noise big shot bigwig big wheel boss

Questions

What does big cheese mean?: A very important figure, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.
Where does big cheese come from?: From big + cheese (“wealth, fame, importance”). Earliest use to mean importance from 1910.

How to pronounce big cheese

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “big cheese”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “big cheese”.
Repeat and practice — Say “big cheese” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.