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
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
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
-
The lawyers of President Donald Trump and Rupert Murdoch have agreed to pause an effort to force the 94-year-old media magnate to testify before a federal court in the president’s defamation case against the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.—
Sarah Whitmire,
Forbes.com,
5 Aug. 2025
-
The moves reflect Trump’s aggressiveness toward media who displease him — even a media magnate, Rupert Murdoch, with outlets that have been friendly to him in the past.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
22 July 2025
Noun
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The question is why the private-equity tycoon, who has spent millions buying and renovating homes in locales including Colorado, California and France, rented that particular property from that particular person.—
Dan Alexander,
Forbes.com,
9 Aug. 2025
-
The tech tycoon left the White House in May, publicly decrying Trump.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Morgan Wallen remains the undisputed king of country music at the moment.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
-
Clocking in at 2,300 square feet each, these residences feature four king bedrooms, an open floor plan, full kitchens, private patios, and 24/7 concierge service.—
Mae Hamilton,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Rumors are afloat that the Trump administration, to help Adams get reelected, will offer Sliwa a big job in D.C. and that Republican bigwig John Catsimatidis will let Sliwa out of his WABC radio contract.—
Ken Frydman,
New York Daily News,
30 June 2025
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Ellison has selected former NBCUniversal bigwig Jeff Shell as president, Dana Goldberg to run the film side and former Netflix content chief Cindy Holland to run Paramount+.—
Peter Kiefer,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pooh-bah.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-bah. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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