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bigwig

big·wig
B b

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [big-wig]
    • /ˈbɪgˌwɪg/
    • /ˈbɪɡ.wɪɡ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [big-wig]
    • /ˈbɪgˌwɪg/

Definitions of bigwig word

  • countable noun bigwig If you refer to an important person as a bigwig, you are being rather disrespectful. 3
  • noun bigwig an important person 3
  • noun bigwig an important, influential person 3
  • noun bigwig an important person, especially an official: senators and other political bigwigs. 1
  • noun bigwig (jocose) A person of importance to a group or organization. 0

Information block about the term

Origin of bigwig

First appearance:

before 1725
One of the 49% newest English words
First recorded in 1725-35; rhyming compound from phrase big wig, i.e., person important enough to wear such a wig

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Bigwig

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

bigwig popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 66% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

bigwig usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for bigwig

noun bigwig

  • mogul — any of the Mongol conquerors of India who established an empire that lasted from 1526 to 1857, but held only nominal power after 1803. See also Great Mogul.
  • vip — A VIP is someone who is given better treatment than ordinary people because they are famous, influential, or important. VIP is an abbreviation for 'very important person'.
  • nabob — any very wealthy, influential, or powerful person.
  • pooh-bah — a person who holds several positions, especially ones that give him or her bureaucratic importance.

Antonyms for bigwig

noun bigwig

  • nobody — a person of no importance, influence, or power.
  • nonentity — a person or thing of no importance.

Top questions with bigwig

  • what is bigwig?
  • what is a bigwig?
  • what does bigwig mean?

See also

Matching words

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