big wheel

noun

plural big wheels

1

chiefly US, informal : an important person : bigwig, big shot

He … followed the girl to the elevator, and got in with her as if she were a big wheel in Bronx politics.

—Wilfrid Sheed

2

British : ferris wheel

The wheel formation is the basis of most rides, and the Big Wheel itself is not a new machine.

—Ian Starsmore

They ate toffee apples and sweet popcorn, shot at targets, tossed rings and rode on the big wheel.

—Paulo Lins

Synonyms

• heavyweight
• heavy
• big
• big gun
• big boy
• heavy hitter
• major leaguer
• big leaguer
• lion
• big cheese

Examples of big wheel in a Sentence

He's a big wheel in local politics.

rose in the ranks to become a big wheel on Wall Street

Recent Examples on the Web

There was a man riding a toddler’s big wheel with a 40-ounce malt liquor bottle in one hand, and a woman wearing just a torn T-shirt was cursing up a storm. —Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 26 May 2025

Off-road vehicles need to be boxy, tall and large with big wheels and specialized tires -- these are terrible for range. —Morgan Korn, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2025

One of the teachers at Abbott, Jacob (played by Chris Perfetti), paid homage to Sajak with his costume, which even included a big wheel. —Kayla Caldwell, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024

The original penny-farthing bicycle had a big wheel up front with a smaller one out at the back, and was also known as a high-wheel cycle. —New Atlas, 6 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1893, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for big wheel

• abele
• alkyl
• anneal
• appeal
• cartwheel
• conceal
• congeal
• coquille
• corneal
• cornmeal
• flywheel
• foveal