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
-
Coffee magnate Prayudh Mahagitsiri’s wealth took a hit as his PM Group’s long-standing joint venture with Nestle ended.—
Phisanu Phromchanya,
Forbes.com,
2 July 2025
-
The island's first inhabitants were the Gabrielino Indigenous Peoples, and the island has changed ownership since the 1800s until purchased by chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr.—
Kathleen Wong,
USA Today,
24 June 2025
Noun
-
At the height of the Greek junta, Irma is murdered by her husband, a tycoon, on their private island.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
8 July 2025
-
The debut comes after the tycoon—son of famed Hong Kong businessman Li Ka-shing—tried to take the company public in New York in 2021, which was abandoned after regulatory scrutiny.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
7 July 2025
Noun
-
Tokyo is famously the reigning king of Michelin cities, boasting 251 stars across 194 restaurants.—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
6 July 2025
-
Our leader shall not be a king ruling by divine right, as that was decided on this day in Philadelphia 249 years ago, but one of the common folk elevated freely by fellow citizens.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
4 July 2025
Noun
-
One of them is Martin Krebs (Rupert Friend), a shady pharmaceuticals bigwig who wants to develop the world’s most effective heart medication using dinosaur blood samples.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
30 June 2025
-
Several months later, on the day that Antonin and Agathe open Patisserie Carême, Antonin and Talleyrand learn that they’re both being packed off to the war together, where they’ll be tasked with feeding the army bigwigs and other duties (espionage, probably) as assigned.—
Sophie Brookover,
Vulture,
11 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pooh-bah.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-bah. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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