1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

fat-cat 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of fat-catnext
as in wealthy
having goods, property, or money in abundance the economy was in recession, but the fat-cat financiers on Wall Street didn't seem to be suffering

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fat cat

2 of 2

noun

1
as in have
a wealthy person that last recession was particularly hard on the poor, but the fat cats barely noticed a dip in their bank accounts

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group a candidate that has the backing of most of the party's fat cats

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fat-cat
Adjective
Writers, broadcasters and even fat-cat owners do it as well. — Steve Buckley, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025 But perhaps the biggest antidote to The Studio’s overdog problem is that its fat-cat Apple TV+ profile can easily be spun as good for everybody. — Joe Reid, Vulture, 30 Aug. 2025
Noun
Nah, that's for the fat cats and money-grubbers. — Steph Wagner, CNBC, 1 Jan. 2026 Though many corporations could still afford suites, fat cats high-fiving while their employees lost their jobs and their companies were taking bailouts was a bad look. — John Seabrook, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for fat-cat
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fat-cat
  1. wealthy
  2. have
  3. heavyweight
  4. rich
  5. capitalist
  6. heavy
  7. affluent
  8. silk stocking
Adjective
  • Around the halfway point of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, Petya Trofimov — eternal grad student, moral purist, and former tutor to the once wealthy family whose diminution sits at the heart of the play — makes a speech.
    — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 18 Sep. 2026
  • When a wealthy, royal woman is attacked by bandits, the two men save her and are welcomed to the castle as valiant knights.
    — Jourdain Searles, HollywoodReporter, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of wealthy
Noun
  • Separating the must-haves from the nice-to-haves can help parents decide where to hold firm and where a splurge might fit within the family budget.
    — Ashley Lynch, Charlotte Observer, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Lumbar support for those of us with a weak core can certainly dial up the comfort level, while footrests and contoured or cushioned seats are other nice-to-haves as well.
    — Kelly Dawson, Architectural Digest, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of have
Noun
  • In Asia, South Korean heavyweights SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics closed down more than 6% and 4%, respectively.
    — Sean Conlon,Elsa Ohlen,Justina Lee,Alex Harring, CNBC, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Ohio State, which beat Texas in the 2024 College Football Playoff and again last year in Columbus, is up next, but more heavyweights follow.
    — Sam Khan Jr, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of heavyweight
Adjective
  • All are worth a visit, but my personal favorite is La Vara, which blends Jewish and Moorish influences to honor Southern Spain’s rich culinary history.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 Sep. 2026
  • In this Dutch drama series based on Noort’s bestselling novel, four rich and glamorous couples are living the dream—until one of them dies in a mysterious house fire.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of rich
Noun
  • In a weekend post responding to Amodei's essay, Sacks, a venture capitalist with investments in AI startups, said the two leading model developers should police themselves rather than asking the government to do it.
    — Lora Kolodny,Jonathan Vanian, CNBC, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But, overall, this didn't seem to be primarily a story of rich capitalists investing money and then sitting on their keisters while their capital generated returns for them.
    — Greg Rosalsky, NPR, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of capitalist
Noun
  • Trapped together in the heavy, stifling isolation of the summer heat, the siblings’ bond begins to shift into something unsettling and difficult to define.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Mehring’s characters include petty criminals, unscrupulous lawyers, Galician Jews, Freikorps heavies, local and international businessmen, Prussian generals, and the everyday citizens inhabiting the streets of Berlin’s old and rather dingy center.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of heavy
Adjective
  • Redwood’s affluent clients are prioritizing the comfort that fall offers, both through lower temperatures and fewer crowds.
    — Marnie Hunter, CNN Money, 5 Sep. 2026
  • According to reports, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex plan to settle in the Cotswolds, an affluent countryside region in south-central England, located about two hours outside London.
    — Ashley Hume , Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of affluent
Noun
  • The record also states that the boys were wearing heavy wool coats and silk stockings in the middle of summer in Philly.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 July 2026
  • In Girard’s household, at least three women would have mended his silk stockings and other clothes.
    — Emily J. Whitted, The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of silk stocking

Browse Nearby Words

fatality
fat-cat
fat cat
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fat-cat.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fat-cat. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of volition

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All