variants
also poo-bah
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
an annual clambake that attracts political pooh-bahs from around the state
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Recent Examples of pooh-bah
That’s nothing new: politics has been part of the Olympics since their inception, despite what the pooh-bahs claim.
—
Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2026
Through his vital performance, and no doubt, director Peter Ellenstein’s shaping and sculpting the portrayal, what could be at worst a pooh-bah’s laundry list makes for a consuming evening.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 20 Jan. 2026
Instead of improving classroom instruction, education pooh-bahs try to hide their failures by dumbing down standards.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
This kind of surgical enhancement can still be frowned upon in the restoration world, decried as fakery by the pooh-bahs of all-original-everything.
—Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 13 July 2024
To Richardson-Merrell’s pooh-bahs, her scrutiny seemed like the dilatory work of someone who didn’t know how the game was played.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Like Joe Rogan, the carnivorous pooh-bah of this intellectual space, Brand appeared interested in teaching a certain kind of man how to be a certain kind of man, mining the tension between think-for-yourself riffs and listen-to-me conclusions.
—Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
But the pooh-bahs in Brussels didn’t exactly rush to say yes.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2023
Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 22 Feb. 2026
Through his vital performance, and no doubt, director Peter Ellenstein’s shaping and sculpting the portrayal, what could be at worst a pooh-bah’s laundry list makes for a consuming evening.
—Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 20 Jan. 2026
Instead of improving classroom instruction, education pooh-bahs try to hide their failures by dumbing down standards.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025
This kind of surgical enhancement can still be frowned upon in the restoration world, decried as fakery by the pooh-bahs of all-original-everything.
—Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 13 July 2024
To Richardson-Merrell’s pooh-bahs, her scrutiny seemed like the dilatory work of someone who didn’t know how the game was played.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024
Like Joe Rogan, the carnivorous pooh-bah of this intellectual space, Brand appeared interested in teaching a certain kind of man how to be a certain kind of man, mining the tension between think-for-yourself riffs and listen-to-me conclusions.
—Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023
But the pooh-bahs in Brussels didn’t exactly rush to say yes.
—Tunku Varadarajan, WSJ, 25 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pooh-bah
Noun
-
South Korea's Kospi is bearing the brunt of the selling, with heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix deeply in the red.—
Katie Foley,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
-
The 2026 gubernatorial primary has been one of the most unpredictable and expensive in decades and a race that was shaped early on by a number of heavyweight Democrats staying on the sidelines.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
In that performance, the big dominated on both sides of the floor from the beginning.—
Fiifi Frimpong,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2026
-
Spurs bigs Tim Duncan and David Robinson were dominant in Ewing’s absence.—
Esfandiar Baraheni,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
Noun
-
The morning meal is becoming the most protein-heavy of the day in many homes, a notable change from the carb-forward cereals and pastries that once defined the American breakfast table.—
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson,
Charlotte Observer,
4 June 2026
-
Even the tech-heavy Nasdaq made it into positive territory.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
The backstory South African billionaire and tech magnate Koos Bekker and his wife Karen Roos had already created waves at Babylonstoren in South Africa, with its gardens modeled on those of the Dutch East India Company, vineyards, and herbal spa.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
-
His students had collectively decided to set the play in eighteen-nineties Butte, making the court of Duke Frederick the house of a silver-mining magnate and situating the Forest of Arden in the Absarokas.—
Jonathan Franzen,
New Yorker,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Immediately afterwards, international dance music bigwigs such as Carl Cox, Martin Garrix, David Guetta, and Peggy Gou took over the sound system to get everyone on the dance floor.—
Stefania Conrieri,
Vanity Fair,
6 June 2026
-
Ever since 1948, when the resident artist Victor Vasarely put Gordes on the map, the town has welcomed political bigwigs, French presidents, artists, and musicians.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026
Noun
-
In January, police in Cambodia also arrested Chen Zhi, the tycoon accused of running numerous scam compounds, a few months after the US seized about $15 billion in cryptocurrency tied to his businesses.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2026
-
Ali kills the sex- and drug-trafficking tycoon with three shotgun blasts to the chest.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pooh-bah.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-bah. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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