as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
a big kahuna at a Hollywood talent agency, he's got the fancy car to prove it
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kahuna
The China tariff deal—not yet done—is the big kahuna in all of this.
—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
5 Aug. 2025
But EnCharge is entering a competitive field, and among the competitors is the big kahuna, Nvidia.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
2 June 2025
This has to be a big kahuna, among records Swift could break that go back to the very beginning of the album chart.
—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
19 June 2024
As an inside joke, Keōua’s kahuna, whose tongue Ka’iana rips out of his mouth in front of Keōua during the hectic battle, is played by Kahoʻokahi Kanuha, Momoa’s ʻŌlelo Hawai’i coach.
—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for kahuna
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
5 Aug. 2025
But EnCharge is entering a competitive field, and among the competitors is the big kahuna, Nvidia.
—
IEEE Spectrum,
2 June 2025
This has to be a big kahuna, among records Swift could break that go back to the very beginning of the album chart.
—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
19 June 2024
As an inside joke, Keōua’s kahuna, whose tongue Ka’iana rips out of his mouth in front of Keōua during the hectic battle, is played by Kahoʻokahi Kanuha, Momoa’s ʻŌlelo Hawai’i coach.
—
Max Gao,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for kahuna
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kahuna
Noun
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The result dashed hopes of a team touted as dark horses who could make a long run in the tournament by beating traditional soccer heavyweights such as Brazil.
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Cape Verde earned a shocking draw with heavyweight Spain at Atlanta Stadium.
Noun
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Like Stewart, Ejiofor has the kind of strength to deal with being an undersized big.
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So Bauer heads back to Mexico City, continuing a journey that has taken him everywhere except the bigs.
Noun
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Geoffrey Lechantoux is responsible for the French-seafood-heavy menu.
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Most standard blends are nitrogen-heavy, which encourages leaf growth instead of fruit.
Noun
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For a queen mother to privilege her daughter/queen’s wishes above those of the son/king who abdicated in the night?
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Little is yet known about the jewelry and its significance, but Gordon believes that the jewelry was once worn by the kings and queens of an ancient Khmer Empire that spanned Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, and existed for hundreds of years.
Noun
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The room was spacious and well-outfitted, and there are also double queen guest rooms available in this section of the resort.
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The logic here is highly questionable — dying for your queen and dying by her hand are not equivalent sacrifices — but let’s blame Lorent’s lapse in judgment on the chaos of the moment.
Noun
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That’s one less lion left for Daemon to kill.
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In some species—lions, for instance—only one male and his closest buddies get the chance to sire offspring.
Noun
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French and Ukrainian media reported that a Ukrainian magnate and his family were those injured.
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Jolie balked at the term and struck a $64 million deal with the billionaire alcohol magnate, Yuri Shefler.
Cite this Entry
“Kahuna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kahuna. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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