as in heavyweights
one of high position or importance within a group
many of the heavy hitters in the wine industry were boozing and schmoozing at the expo
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Recent Examples of heavy hitters
And there will be some pretty heavy hitters doing battle.
—
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 May 2026
Returning heavy hitters include Gagosian, Gladstone Gallery, Marian Goodman Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, kurimanzutto, Mendes Wood DM, Pace Gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube, and David Zwirner.
—News Desk, Artforum, 28 May 2026
Before this expansion, VenHub was drowning in its own success, racking up high-profile partnerships with heavy hitters such as LAX/Metro and Circa Resort & Casino while lacking the raw physical capacity to actually build the hardware.
—Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 27 May 2026
Wild Turkey Rare Breed is often mentioned alongside high-rye heavy hitters, yet its recipe falls squarely within the standard category.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
What was once a timber town is now one of the Willamette’s gastronomic epicenters, home to heavy hitters like Hayward, Big Table Farms, Carlton Winemaker Studios, and Flâneur Wines.
—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2026
The big story on Monday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a massive, three-car crash that involved some serious heavy hitters in this year's race, including 2016 Indy 500 champ Alexander Rossi.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Add Jonathan Haidt to the list of heavy hitters who have been booed at Yankee Stadium.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 16 May 2026
Familiar heavy hitters such as the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans continued to impress, while other teams, including the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns, redeemed themselves after past videos that missed the mark.
—Jayna Bardahl, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 May 2026
Returning heavy hitters include Gagosian, Gladstone Gallery, Marian Goodman Gallery, Hauser & Wirth, kurimanzutto, Mendes Wood DM, Pace Gallery, Thaddaeus Ropac, White Cube, and David Zwirner.
—News Desk, Artforum, 28 May 2026
Before this expansion, VenHub was drowning in its own success, racking up high-profile partnerships with heavy hitters such as LAX/Metro and Circa Resort & Casino while lacking the raw physical capacity to actually build the hardware.
—Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 27 May 2026
Wild Turkey Rare Breed is often mentioned alongside high-rye heavy hitters, yet its recipe falls squarely within the standard category.
—Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
What was once a timber town is now one of the Willamette’s gastronomic epicenters, home to heavy hitters like Hayward, Big Table Farms, Carlton Winemaker Studios, and Flâneur Wines.
—Zoe Baillargeon, Travel + Leisure, 19 May 2026
The big story on Monday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a massive, three-car crash that involved some serious heavy hitters in this year's race, including 2016 Indy 500 champ Alexander Rossi.
—Matt Reigle Outkick, FOXNews.com, 19 May 2026
Add Jonathan Haidt to the list of heavy hitters who have been booed at Yankee Stadium.
—Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 16 May 2026
Familiar heavy hitters such as the Los Angeles Chargers and Tennessee Titans continued to impress, while other teams, including the Indianapolis Colts and Cleveland Browns, redeemed themselves after past videos that missed the mark.
—Jayna Bardahl, New York Times, 15 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heavy hitters
Noun
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South Korea’s Kospi recently hit an all-time high, but the index appears to be overly reliant on two heavyweights — Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — according to BTIG analyst Jonathan Krinsky in a note.—
Justina Lee,
CNBC,
28 May 2026
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For a group of British retail heavyweights, the government’s move to close a tax loophole on low-value goods from overseas by 2029 would come too little, too late.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Footwear News,
28 May 2026
Noun
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But for whatever reason, that process has stagnated in the bigs.—
Tim Britton,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
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There are a few free agent bigs who are probably out of Denver’s price range (Mitchell Robinson, Robert Williams III, Kristaps Porzingis).—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
29 May 2026
Noun
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However, on season 2 of Twin Peaks, the actress played Miss Jones, the right-hand woman for one of the series' heavies, Thomas Eckhardt (the late David Warner).—
Drew Mackie,
PEOPLE,
11 Apr. 2026
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Specifically, Alioto sought to reimagine the magazine as a many-pronged vehicle for promising tastes—like those of regular contributors and critical heavies, Grace Byron and Greta Rainbow.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Minnesota Wild’s big guns showed up in a big way Saturday night, and the Avs looked wobbly for the first time in this tournament in a 5-1 loss in Game 3 at Grand Casino Arena.—
Corey Masisak,
Denver Post,
10 May 2026
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Against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup, Wrexham twice raced into a two-goal lead only for the half-time of introduction of the Premier League’s ‘big guns’ to underline how far the Welsh club still has to go if their owners’ top flight ambitions are to be realised.—
Richard Sutcliffe,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
Noun
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Four wheels moves the body, two wheels moves the soul.—
Yvonne Villarreal,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
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Before Bret realizes his daughter's foot-content creator career dream is a jest for the cameras, the loving father spins his wheels, recovering from his surprise to even manage encouragement.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
Noun
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Jordin Canada was equally impressive, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists while hitting big shots when Atlanta needed them most, including a clutch three-pointer late that pushed the lead to 73-65.—
Christopher Harris,
CBS News,
13 May 2026
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Dylan Harper had 24 points on 11 shots off the bench, Stephon Castle had 20 points and De’Aaron Fox had a number of big shots to allow the Spurs to lead by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter.—
Dan Santaromita,
New York Times,
11 May 2026
Noun
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But taking on one of Wall Street’s big boys, and then getting squashed for it, ranks right up there.—
Liz Peek,
Washington Post,
4 May 2026
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Then the Bruins big boys decided to make a statement after that.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The car's quirky appearance is enhanced by a sporty body kit and big wheels that are pushed to the farthest edges.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
27 Apr. 2026
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The cars that Geely showcased at CES, in Las Vegas, were large SUVs with big wheels, opulent interiors, and three rows of seats—not unlike a Ford Explorer.—
Patrick George,
The Atlantic,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Heavy hitters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heavy%20hitters. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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