as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
a big kahuna at a Hollywood talent agency, he's got the fancy car to prove it
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Recent Examples of kahuna
The ISM Manufacturing Index kicks things off today with plenty of more data over the coming days, anchored by the big kahuna, Friday’s employment situation report for July.
—
Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022
But the big kahuna is still to come, as the company finally confirmed that the Supra is officially getting a manual transmission.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 15 Apr. 2022
The big kahuna of their SoCal tour-within-a-tour this week is Wednesday night’s show at Crypto.com Arena, a venue that’s seven miles and about 43 years from the Masque, where the earliest incarnation of the group started out as a punk group.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
And the big kahuna of them all, the Oscars, are just around the corner.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for kahuna
Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022
But the big kahuna is still to come, as the company finally confirmed that the Supra is officially getting a manual transmission.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 15 Apr. 2022
The big kahuna of their SoCal tour-within-a-tour this week is Wednesday night’s show at Crypto.com Arena, a venue that’s seven miles and about 43 years from the Masque, where the earliest incarnation of the group started out as a punk group.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
And the big kahuna of them all, the Oscars, are just around the corner.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2021
See All Example Sentences for kahuna
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kahuna
Noun
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And in Miami, Bam Adebayo continues to thrive as a hybrid big who can score, pass, and switch.—
Sindiswa Mabunda,
Forbes.com,
25 June 2025
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While there’s a deep well of high-end guard prospects, the bigs have a smaller list and could produce Maluach and Queen as the lone lottery picks.—
Aaron Beard,
Chicago Tribune,
23 June 2025
Noun
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Others are the heaviest of the heavy: a college student rendered brain-dead by a fentanyl overdose, a little girl who fatally drowns while saving her sister who fell into their swimming pool.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
17 May 2025
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Class struggle is reflected in the way that the back-alley heavy, Atticus Hawk, dismisses the ivory-tower eccentricity of the occult specialist Scholar Vitali.—
The New York Times,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Noun
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Royal experts emphasized to Fox News Digital there's no reason to believe the king will abdicate anytime soon due to any health concerns.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
23 June 2025
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Fought from 1701 to 1714, the conflict centered on who would inherit the Spanish throne after the Habsburg king Charles II died without an heir.—
Aurora Martínez,
Smithsonian Magazine,
23 June 2025
Noun
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While Jon is bound to leadership by a sense of duty, Daenerys sees herself as a liberator, a queen steeped in moral righteousness who freed slaves across the sea for the greater good.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
14 July 2017
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THE TRENDSETTER Salt & Straw is the homecoming queen of ice cream in LA.—
Cole Kazdin,
Los Angeles Magazine,
14 July 2017
Noun
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Arena said Bass, who sent the lion’s share of those emails, never represented himself as the city’s lobbyist in front of him.—
Alice Yin,
Chicago Tribune,
30 June 2025
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With a plethora of game—including lions, leopards, cheetahs, rhinos, giraffes and zebras—the country delivers a blend of adventure and jaw-dropping beauty.—
Judy Koutsky,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Noun
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Shuna later passed through the hands of film and shipping magnates before becoming the romantic escape of the Viscountess Selby and WWII Pathfinder Donald Wells.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
20 June 2025
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The other involves keeping a magnate’s daughter from being kidnapped.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kahuna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kahuna. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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