bigwig

/ˈbɪɡwɪɡ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈbɪɡwɪɡ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈbig-ˌwig/ (ame, mw)

bigwig — noun

  • bigwigsingular
  • bigwigsplural

1. an informal word for someone who holds a senior position in an organisation such

1.名詞B2
釋義

an informal word for someone who holds a senior position in an organisation such as a company, political party, or government, and whose decisions carry weight

例句

Valentina spent the morning meeting with media bigwigs from three major television networks.

media bigwigs

A few political bigwigs gathered at the hotel to discuss the new trade agreement behind closed doors.

political bigwigs

同義詞
  • VIP

    more neutral and common; often written in capitals; does not carry the playful tone of bigwig

  • heavy hitter

    even more informal; focuses on influence and ability to get results

  • big cheese

    humorous; very informal; may sound dated in some contexts

  • power broker

    more formal and specific; refers to someone who influences decisions behind the scenes

反義詞
  • nobody

    informal; opposite end of the importance scale

  • underling

    emphasises a lower position in a hierarchy

  • small fry

    humorous informal expression for someone unimportant

文法句型

[field] + bigwigs

bigwigs + from/in/of + [organisation]

用法筆記

Almost always appears in the plural (bigwigs) or with a preceding modifier (media bigwigs, party bigwigs). Singular use ('a bigwig') is possible but less common. Strongly informal — avoid in formal academic or professional writing.

常見錯誤

❌The bigwigs of the company invited us for lunch.
✅The company bigwigs invited us for lunch.
💡The word is more natural with the field or organisation before it (media bigwigs, industry bigwigs) rather than 'bigwigs of'.
❌The bigwig meeting was held at noon.
✅The meeting of bigwigs was held at noon.
💡Using 'bigwig' as an adjective before a noun is rare and sounds unnatural.