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A relic of the large U.S. presence in Japan in the years following World War II, the word honcho comes from the Japanese word hanchō meaning “leader of the squad, section, group.” We are uncertain of the exact route by which honcho found its way into American military argot in the mid-1950s, though it is known that the Japanese applied hanchō to British or Australian officers in charge of work parties in prisoner-of-war camps. By the 1960s, the word had become part of colloquial American jargon.
Synonyms
- big
- big boy
- big cheese
- big gun
- big leaguer
- big shot
- big wheel
- big-timer
- bigfoot
- biggie
- bigwig
- fat cat
- heavy
- heavy hitter
- heavyweight
- high-muck-a-muck
- high-muckety-muck
- kahuna
- kingfish
- kingpin
- major leaguer
- muckety-muck
- muck-a-muck
- mucky-muck
- nabob
- nawab
- nibs
- nob [chiefly British]
- pooh-bah
- poo-bah
- wheel
Examples of honcho in a Sentence
Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2024
Jane Street Capital honcho Tim Reynolds launched the brand, now with locations in the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Anguilla, in 2010.
—Nicola Leigh Stewart, Robb Report, 24 July 2024
But after her arrest, the powerful union’s honcho soured on Zhuang.
—Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 17 July 2024
Just up the street and across East Hampton’s scenic little pond, another historic inn, The Maidstone, has been purchased by pharmaceutical and cannabis honcho Irwin Simon, along with hotelier Mayank Dwivedi.
—Beth Landman, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for honcho 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'honcho.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near honcho
Cite this Entry
“Honcho.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honcho. Accessed 8 Oct. 2024.
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