as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
a big kahuna at a Hollywood talent agency, he's got the fancy car to prove it
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Recent Examples of kahuna
The ISM Manufacturing Index kicks things off today with plenty of more data over the coming days, anchored by the big kahuna, Friday’s employment situation report for July.
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Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022
In Cantore’s experience, nothing compares to covering the big kahuna of 2005: Katrina.
—Nick Heil, Outside Online, 25 June 2013
But the big kahuna is still to come, as the company finally confirmed that the Supra is officially getting a manual transmission.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 15 Apr. 2022
The big kahuna of their SoCal tour-within-a-tour this week is Wednesday night’s show at Crypto.com Arena, a venue that’s seven miles and about 43 years from the Masque, where the earliest incarnation of the group started out as a punk group.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
See all Example Sentences for kahuna 
Jj Kinahan, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022
In Cantore’s experience, nothing compares to covering the big kahuna of 2005: Katrina.
—Nick Heil, Outside Online, 25 June 2013
But the big kahuna is still to come, as the company finally confirmed that the Supra is officially getting a manual transmission.
—Joey Capparella, Car and Driver, 15 Apr. 2022
The big kahuna of their SoCal tour-within-a-tour this week is Wednesday night’s show at Crypto.com Arena, a venue that’s seven miles and about 43 years from the Masque, where the earliest incarnation of the group started out as a punk group.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 30 Mar. 2022
See all Example Sentences for kahuna
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kahuna
Noun
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To wit, the team is apparently circling Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler as a potential backup big to accent All-NBA Second Teamer Anthony Davis.Nina Turner, Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024
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Cross-country City Section and Southern Section teams continue to prepare for the big meets ahead in cross-country.Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Gladiator 2 has Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal as Colosseum-adjacent heavies.Nate Jones, Vulture, 3 Oct. 2024
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With this year's costumes trend predicted to be extra pop-culture heavy, some obvious duo costumes, like Deadpool and Wolverine, come to mind.Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Back at Lallybroch, Claire and Jamie maneuver the shocked reactions of his family as Claire calmly shares her intel on how this upcoming revolution will result in the rich being persecuted and the king and queen being beheaded.Lincee Ray, EW.com, 23 Nov. 2024
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In 2021, Yoox Net-a-Porter Group pledged to commit to the king’s Terra Carta, a mandate that puts sustainability at the heart of the private sector.Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
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While Jon is bound to leadership by a sense of duty, Daenerys sees herself as a liberator, a queen steeped in moral righteousness who freed slaves across the sea for the greater good.David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 July 2017
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THE TRENDSETTER Salt & Straw is the homecoming queen of ice cream in LA.Cole Kazdin, Los Angeles Magazine, 14 July 2017
Noun
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The Interior Department oversees the lion’s share of federal lands—approximately 500 million acres—and manages the agencies National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service, among others.Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 15 Nov. 2024
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Although California prioritizes the adoption of electric vehicles, the lion’s share of the $22 billion of private investment generated by the fuel standard has largely benefited biofuel companies.Grant Stringer, The Mercury News, 9 Nov. 2024
Noun
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The criminal indictment follows the meteoric rise of Adani as a magnate on the global stage.Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 21 Nov. 2024
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McMahon is a professional wrestling magnate who ran two unsuccessful campaigns for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut.Jonaki Mehta, NPR, 19 Nov. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Kahuna.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kahuna. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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