fat cat

noun

1

a

: a wealthy contributor to a political campaign fund

b

: a wealthy and privileged person

c

: big shot

2

: a lethargic complacent person

fat-cat

ˈfat-ˌkat 

adjective

Synonyms

• capitalist
• Croesus
• deep pocket
• have
• money
• moneybags
• plutocrat
• silk stocking

Examples of fat cat in a Sentence

The best seats in the theater were reserved for the fat cats.

that last recession was particularly hard on the poor, but the fat cats barely noticed a dip in their bank accounts

Recent Examples on the Web

Poor poll numbers caused panicky Democratic Party oligarchs and fat cat donors to oust him as their candidate. —Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2024

But Bergman’s the sort of lawyer who strikes fear in fat cats’ hearts. —Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2024

So if a fat cat wrote a check for $10,000 to a candidate for Senate, there would be a match on $250. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2024

There were six movie adaptations along the way in an attempt to revive the popularity of the beloved fat cat, including the live-action Garfield: The Movie released in 2004, and the subsequent Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties in 2006. —Kristina Behr, Parents, 20 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1a