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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
  • Chip heavyweight Nvidia is rolling out a new software platform that allows AI developers to set safeguards for agents to prevent them from misbehaving.
    — Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Sporting a cowboy hat, grill and goatee, Cho makes for a menacing villain who more than holds his own against the heavyweight Ali.
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of heavyweight
Noun
  • Polish superstar Robert Lewandowski joining the Chicago Fire has been a big to Woznik, who is just as likely to groove to the great romantic 19th century Polish composer Frederic Chopin.
    — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Unfortunately, the less said about China’s guards, the better; their main job is to get the ball past half court without turning it over and then feed the bigs.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of big
Noun
  • That much was clear Saturday at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art’s opening-night soiree, where the guest list was as celebrity-heavy as any Academy Awards after-party.
    — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Trapped together in the heavy, stifling isolation of the summer heat, the siblings’ bond begins to shift into something unsettling and difficult to define.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of heavy
Noun
  • The shipping magnate led Hong Kong from 1997 to 2005, steering it through the Asian financial crisis, deadly SARS outbreak and massive protests over a controversial anti-treason law.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 Sep. 2026
  • The President, who likes his steak well done and slathered in ketchup, met with a Brazilian beef magnate named Joesley Batista, who in the past had admitted to making large payments to public officials and was briefly jailed.
    — Bill McKibben, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of magnate
Noun
  • The suit added a glamour factor for bigwig sponsors who would sometimes ride along.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The idea, according to officials, would bring $500 million to the city’s coffers annually, paid primarily by bigwigs who get to enjoy city life but don’t pay city income taxes.
    — Anthony Izaguirre, Fortune, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of bigwig
Noun
  • Lately, though, many mom-and-pop tycoons are turning to different kinds of funding.
    — Lew Sichelman, Miami Herald, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In Digger, Cruise — nearly unrecognizable in makeup and prosthetics — plays an oblivious oil tycoon whose drilling in Greenland dislodges an ice shelf from a glacier that’s going to cause a global disaster.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 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 Sep. 2026.

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