variants
also poo-bah
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
an annual clambake that attracts political pooh-bahs from around the state
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of pooh-bah
Instead of improving classroom instruction, education pooh-bahs try to hide their failures by dumbing down standards.
—
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
This kind of surgical enhancement can still be frowned upon in the restoration world, decried as fakery by the pooh-bahs of all-original-everything.
—Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 13 July 2024
To Richardson-Merrell’s pooh-bahs, her scrutiny seemed like the dilatory work of someone who didn’t know how the game was played.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Like Joe Rogan, the carnivorous pooh-bah of this intellectual space, Brand appeared interested in teaching a certain kind of man how to be a certain kind of man, mining the tension between think-for-yourself riffs and listen-to-me conclusions.
—Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
But the pooh-bahs in Brussels didn’t exactly rush to say yes.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2023
Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
This kind of surgical enhancement can still be frowned upon in the restoration world, decried as fakery by the pooh-bahs of all-original-everything.
—Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 13 July 2024
To Richardson-Merrell’s pooh-bahs, her scrutiny seemed like the dilatory work of someone who didn’t know how the game was played.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Like Joe Rogan, the carnivorous pooh-bah of this intellectual space, Brand appeared interested in teaching a certain kind of man how to be a certain kind of man, mining the tension between think-for-yourself riffs and listen-to-me conclusions.
—Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
But the pooh-bahs in Brussels didn’t exactly rush to say yes.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pooh-bah
Noun
-
Poltergeist pairs two Hollywood heavyweights, with Steven Spielberg behind the story and Tobe Hooper in the director's chair — and the result is pure movie magic.—
Steven Thrash,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Oct. 2025
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For now, economic heavyweights California and New York are treading water but could easily tip the scales.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
New York's farm system is as good as any, and features several players nearing the bigs.—
Aaliyan Mohammed,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
According to Cleaning the Glass, just 26% of Adebayo’s shot attempts this season have come at the rim (26th percentile among NBA bigs) while 36% of his shots this season have come from three-point range (78th percentile among NBA bigs).—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
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If the Rockets go big-heavy often, Reed Sheppard loses some shine.—
Stan Son,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The shift to bonds may indicate investors are rebalancing to keep their asset allocations from getting too stock-heavy, Austin said.—
Greg Iacurci,
CNBC,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
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But my collection intentionally ignored the fraudulent exploits of billionaire heirs, tax dodgers and corporate magnates — defense contracts, government lobbying, bank accounts in Switzerland, shell companies in Panama, citizenship of Antigua and political asylum in London.—
Snigdha Poonam,
The Dial,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The eight-bedroom residence is being offered by Duty Free Americas magnate Simon Falic and his wife, Jana Falic, who bought the property on a whim in 2015 after falling in love with the island on their second visit.—
Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The film stars Andrew McCarthy as Jim, a NASA bigwig tasked with helping Apollo (Drew Van Acker), an astronaut with memory loss, figure out what happened to cause his ship to crash and leave the other crew dead.—
William Earl,
Variety,
25 Oct. 2025
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Sharon and Expectation met with then BBC content boss Charlotte Moore and other bigwigs at the British public broadcaster, and Home to Roost was set up as a ten-part BBC series that would follow the return home.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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One of the collections comes from Walmart tycoon Jack Shewmaker, which features a plethora of rare pickup trucks.—
Ella Gonzales,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Oct. 2025
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Tabor Opera House Built in 1879 by mining tycoon Horace Tabor, the Tabor Opera House is a Victorian-era landmark in the heart of downtown that still hosts live theater, concerts, and community events.—
Karthika Gupta,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pooh-bah.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-bah. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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