pooh-bah

noun

ˈpü-ˌbä How to pronounce pooh-bah (audio)
variants also poo-bah
Definition of pooh-bahnext
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group an annual clambake that attracts political pooh-bahs from around the state

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pooh-bah 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
  1. heavyweight
  2. big
  3. heavy
  4. magnate
  5. bigwig
  6. tycoon
Noun
  • Few Brazilian political heavyweights were in attendance, in another sign of his troubles forming an alliance against Lula ahead of the October election.
    — Mauricio Savarese, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2026
  • Few Brazilian political heavyweights were in attendance, in another sign of his troubles forming an alliance against Lula ahead of the October election .
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 July 2026
Definition of heavyweight
Noun
  • Plus, if Seattle wants to move Magbegor to create space for the young bigs, then other teams will know the Storm are doing so from a position of weakness.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • Data show those players have about an 11% chance to reach the bigs (compared to about 81% for those picked in the first round).
    — Joe Davidson, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026
Definition of big
Noun
  • Soon after Rhaenyra executes Otto Hightower, who was once mastermind of that family’s schemes, Ormund steps up to be the faction’s new heavy.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 13 July 2026
  • Shares of Meta are flat on the year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 is up 18%.
    — Oliver Renick, CNBC, 10 July 2026
Definition of heavy
Noun
  • But the great-grandson became wealthy in his own right as a magnate and pioneer in the New York hotel industry.
    — Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 25 July 2026
  • Miriam Adelson, the widow of the Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, and Diane Hendricks, a major conservative donor in Wisconsin, each gave $25 million.
    — Erin Mansfield, USA Today, 22 July 2026
Definition of magnate
Noun
  • However, after impressing bigwigs at Universal with his short film Amblin’, Spielberg put his education aside in 1968 to pursue filmmaking.
    — Andrea Wurzburger, PEOPLE, 18 July 2026
  • Several members of the cast and writer’s room, including Dippold and co-star Jeff Hiller, got their start with the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational sketch-comedy group founded by comedy bigwigs like Amy Poehler and Adam McKay.
    — Josef Adalian, Vulture, 29 June 2026
Definition of bigwig
Noun
  • That has created mounting public resistance as tech companies concentrate historic levels of wealth in the hands of a select group of tycoons.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 July 2026
  • Harper—whom David and Victoria welcomed on July 10, 2011—has reportedly had her sights set on becoming a future tycoon after being inspired by her mom’s reinvention as a fashion and beauty figure in the industry.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 22 July 2026
Definition of tycoon

Browse Nearby Words

pooching
pooh-bah
pooh-bahs
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Cite this Entry

“Pooh-bah.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-bah. Accessed 29 Jul. 2026.

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