variants
also poo-bah
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
an annual clambake that attracts political pooh-bahs from around the state
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Recent Examples of pooh-bah
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
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
Noun
-
Mimran, the son of billionaire sugar magnate Jean-Claude Mimran, had offered to serve as a third-party guarantor for an untitled ca.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
17 July 2025
-
The residence was purchased in the 1970s for just $900,000 by the late radio concert promoter and radio station magnate Ken Roberts, who wound up relinquishing it to the financial services firm New Stream Capital in 2010 to settle a $27.5 million legal claim.—
Wendy Bowman,
Robb Report,
15 July 2025
Noun
-
The Indian tycoon and To Lam, general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, met in Hanoi yesterday.—
Yessar Rosendar,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
-
Citizen Kane tells the story of a publishing tycoon named Charles Foster Kane, a character Welles based on William Randolph Hearst.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
18 July 2025
Noun
-
Rooms incorporate natural accents, king beds and marble bathrooms with soaking tubs.—
Taryn White,
Forbes.com,
30 July 2025
-
Be sure to catch the marksmanship competition during which festival participants shoot at a wooden eagle to determine the festival's king and queen.—
Keith Pandolfi,
The Enquirer,
30 July 2025
Noun
-
The daughter of music bigwig Don Arden, who’d previously managed Black Sabbath, Sharon helped steer Osbourne’s solo career, which lasted well into his 70s.—
Rachel DeSantis,
People.com,
29 July 2025
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Three years later, Hurst was cast on CBS’ The Dukes of Hazzard as Hazzard County bigwig Boss Hogg’s dim-witted second cousin, twice removed.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
26 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pooh-bah.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pooh-bah. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
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