# big cheese

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/big-cheese
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

A very important figure, especially a high-ranking person in an organization.

## Examples

- He is the big cheese at our local office.
- You should speak with the big cheese if you want to change the company policy.
- The junior employees were nervous when the big cheese arrived to announce the unexpected corporate merger.

## Origin

From big + cheese, where the latter term denotes wealth, fame, or importance. The construction is first recorded as a marker of personal importance in 1910.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.