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
But EnCharge is entering a competitive field, and among the competitors is the big kahuna, Nvidia.
—
IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2025
This has to be a big kahuna, among records Swift could break that go back to the very beginning of the album chart.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 19 June 2024
The big kahuna, Photoshop itself, costs a minimum of $9.99 per month, but that subscription also includes Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and 20GB of cloud storage.
—PCMAG, 10 May 2024
As an inside joke, Keōua’s kahuna, whose tongue Ka’iana rips out of his mouth in front of Keōua during the hectic battle, is played by Kahoʻokahi Kanuha, Momoa’s ʻŌlelo Hawai’i coach.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for kahuna
IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2025
This has to be a big kahuna, among records Swift could break that go back to the very beginning of the album chart.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 19 June 2024
The big kahuna, Photoshop itself, costs a minimum of $9.99 per month, but that subscription also includes Lightroom, Lightroom Classic, and 20GB of cloud storage.
—PCMAG, 10 May 2024
As an inside joke, Keōua’s kahuna, whose tongue Ka’iana rips out of his mouth in front of Keōua during the hectic battle, is played by Kahoʻokahi Kanuha, Momoa’s ʻŌlelo Hawai’i coach.
—Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for kahuna
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kahuna
Noun
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Bores, once an engineer at Palantir (the AI company involved in helping ICE), has earned the ire of his former bosses, and other tech bro heavyweights, by forcefully campaigning on regulation.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
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Here, that body includes an array of West Coast jazz heavyweights, including Carlos Niño on percussion; Nate Mercereau on guitar, percussion, and wind; and Sam Reid and Jamael Dean, both on piano.—
Linnie Greene,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Their bigs dominated us, and you guys watched the game, too.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
24 Feb. 2026
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Credit goes to the Iowa bigs, who led an inside attack that allowed Iowa to outscore Michigan by 18 points in the paint.—
Chantel Jennings,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
These figures place the organic prototype within the performance envelope of conventional lithium-ion batteries, while introducing a new materials platform based on organic chemistry rather than metal-heavy cathodes, CarNewsChina writes.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Feb. 2026
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Brian Dennehy played the heavy in it.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Accuaratex Bamboo Viscose Queen Sheet Set Bamboo viscose is often considered the king of cooling fabrics, beloved for its ability to help heat dissipate and its comfortable, cool-to-touch feel.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
22 Feb. 2026
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Place it in your entryway to hold your everyday shoes and accessories, at the foot of a king-sized bed to store extra linens, or as a console table in your living room under the TV to hold electronics and chargers.—
Caley Sturgill,
Southern Living,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The future queen wore a choker bracelet from Queen Mary’s collection on Sunday, as well as the Greville Chandelier Earrings—both sparklers from the royal collection.—
Rachel Burchfield,
InStyle,
23 Feb. 2026
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RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under season 1 queen, actor, and activist Maxi Shield has died at age 51, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Symptoms include fearlessness and loss of coordination, behaviors inviting lion predation, and thereby removal of disease vectors.—
Ted Williams,
Denver Post,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Two lion statues stand guard at the front entrance.—
Brendel Clark,
Freep.com,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Wexner was Epstein's most significant client, and Epstein reportedly drew on his association with the retail magnate behind Victoria's Secret to attract young women and girls.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
18 Feb. 2026
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The 72-year-old Packard, an oceanographer, is the daughter of technology magnate David Packard, the aquarium’s founding benefactor.—
James Rainey,
Los Angeles Times,
18 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kahuna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kahuna. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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