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
That year’s category was stacked with heavy hitters, including Salma Hayek, Julianne Moore and Renée Zellweger.
—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025
The song’s remix, featuring Mexican heavy hitters Luis R Conriquez, Oscar Maydon, Alemán and Victor Mendivil, closes Discontrol.
—Griselda Flores, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2025
Now, a new regional alliance in New York City hopes to bolster indie exhibition, with some heavy hitters attached.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2025
Outside of heavy hitters like Starfield or the latest Destiny 2 meditation on the nature of evil space spheres, notable space games have been relatively few and far between.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) is bringing heavy hitters to its inaugural Korea Pavilion, including public broadcasters KBS and MBC, KT Studiogenie from telecom giant KT, Studio S from media powerhouse SBS, and K-pop specialist Kang Contents.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Beyond the heavy hitters, Amsterdam boasts a slew of excellent but lesser-known museums.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 1 Oct. 2025
Production on The Chi season 8 is set to begin in 2026, but once that season airs, the series will have tied heavy hitters like Weeds, Dexter, and Homeland for second-longest running series in network history, behind Shameless, which holds the gold medal with 11.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Several more Western countries formally recognized a Palestinian state ahead of the UNGA, including diplomatic heavy hitters like Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
—Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025
Stephanie Giang-Paunon, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025
The song’s remix, featuring Mexican heavy hitters Luis R Conriquez, Oscar Maydon, Alemán and Victor Mendivil, closes Discontrol.
—Griselda Flores, Billboard, 13 Oct. 2025
Now, a new regional alliance in New York City hopes to bolster indie exhibition, with some heavy hitters attached.
—Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 8 Oct. 2025
Outside of heavy hitters like Starfield or the latest Destiny 2 meditation on the nature of evil space spheres, notable space games have been relatively few and far between.
—Alan Bradley, Space.com, 7 Oct. 2025
The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) is bringing heavy hitters to its inaugural Korea Pavilion, including public broadcasters KBS and MBC, KT Studiogenie from telecom giant KT, Studio S from media powerhouse SBS, and K-pop specialist Kang Contents.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Oct. 2025
Beyond the heavy hitters, Amsterdam boasts a slew of excellent but lesser-known museums.
—Blane Bachelor, AFAR Media, 1 Oct. 2025
Production on The Chi season 8 is set to begin in 2026, but once that season airs, the series will have tied heavy hitters like Weeds, Dexter, and Homeland for second-longest running series in network history, behind Shameless, which holds the gold medal with 11.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Oct. 2025
Several more Western countries formally recognized a Palestinian state ahead of the UNGA, including diplomatic heavy hitters like Canada, France and the United Kingdom.
—Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for heavy hitters
Noun
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Brighton & Hove Albion need big performances from their best players to continue an outstanding record against some of the Premier League heavyweights.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Those fears contrasted with strong results earlier in the week from Wall Street heavyweights like JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Bank of America.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Not only did San Diego State graduate its three regular bigs – Kim Villalobos, Adryana Quezada and Cali Clark – from the Mountain West Tournament champions, point guard and leading scorer Veronica Sheffey transferred through the portal to TCU.—
Bill Center,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Oct. 2025
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All five players will need to be involved, and that is where the bigs enter the conversation.—
Eric Nehm,
New York Times,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In February, Mayor Harrell, at the behest of local heavies such as Amazon and Microsoft, led the opposition to a referendum on another tax on those companies which would help pay for public, mixed-income housing in a city that desperately needs it.—
Bill McKibben,
New Yorker,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Exterior upgrades include a more aggressive look with adaptive dampers, 22-inch wheels and black-and-chrome exterior accents, including black roof rails.—
James Raia,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Many tiny houses nowadays are actually more like apartments on wheels, with expansive – and expensive – interiors.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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For October camp and friendlies, Pochettino called in more big guns — a squad that looks a lot closer to what the World Cup roster will look like than in the September camp.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
14 Oct. 2025
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Some big guns were still here, but the results often underdelivered.—
Alan Light,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Natisha Hiedeman scored 19 points off the bench and reserve Maria Kliundikova added eight, including a trio of big shots in the fourth.—
Mike Cook,
Twin Cities,
27 Sep. 2025
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The Hundred offers a cosy domestic dose of garish colors, potato crisp team sponsors and big shots.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
19 Aug. 2025
Noun
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One of the biggest reasons the Padres’ slugging numbers are down is that those big boys have not produced the power that was expected out of them.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Still, expect short overhangs and big wheels, even if not quite the size of these absurdly chrome 24-inchers.—
Michael Teo Van Runkle,
ArsTechnica,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Heavy hitters.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/heavy%20hitters. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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