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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The Pistons have used a combination of wings (Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr.) and bigs (Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart, who sat Game 2 due to injury) to show Towns different looks on the defensive end.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025
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After officials told Green to lay off the physicality – and the veteran big vociferously argued – the two went right back to jostling.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Harry heads back to the yard, where a group of Kevin's Czechoslovakian hired heavies are preparing for war.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
13 Apr. 2025
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On Twin Peaks, Strong plays Jones, the right-hand woman for one of the series’ heavies.—
Drew Mackie,
People.com,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The Prince of Wales’ attendance in place of the King is a modern tradition, and a statement to further establish William’s role as future king.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
24 Apr. 2025
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Charlotte on the other hand will likely be the future daughter or sister of a future king.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 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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Archaeologists have now found the first direct osteological evidence: the skeleton of a Roman gladiator who encountered a wild animal in the arena, most likely a lion, based on bite marks evident on the pelvic bone, according to a paper published in the journal PLoS ONE.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2025
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It’s got about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee and a nice coconut flavor thanks to a bit of powdered coconut milk, and, importantly for a mushroom coffee, not too much fungi flavor despite the inclusion of lion’s mane, reishi, and cordyceps.—
Alaina Chou,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Around the same time, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff, a real estate magnate who has been heavily involved in the negotiations with Russia, mused about the possibilities for U.S.-Russian collaboration in an interview with the commentator Tucker Carlson.—
Stacie E. Goddard,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
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Zuckerberg, who was recently revealed as the buyer of a $23 million mansion with a 10-minute commute to the White House, is but the latest of the Silicon Valley magnates flocking to the area’s high-end homes, making ripples in the luxury real estate market as well as in politics.—
Katie Schultz,
Architectural Digest,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kahuna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kahuna. Accessed 5 May. 2025.
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