grand poobah

/ɡɹænd ˈpuːbɑː/

noun

A person who is important or high-ranking.

“He once played golf with the grand poobah of their company.”

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important person
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Meanings

grand poobah1

noungrand poobah (plural grand poobahs)

plural grand poobahs · alternative Grand Poobah

  1. colloquialhumorousidiomaticoftenA person who is important or high-ranking.

    He once played golf with the grand poobah of their company.

  2. idiomaticslangAn extremely pompous person.

Grand Poobah2

nounGrand Poobah (plural Grand Poobahs)

plural Grand Poobahs

  1. Alternative letter-case form of grand poobah.

    Grand Poobah of Leopard Lodge No. 462" in Milwaukee.

    1979, Happy Days (TV series)
    1 more example

    Grand Poobah/Grand Imperial Poobah of the Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes Lodge No. 26.

    1960-1966, The Flintstones (cartoon)

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
important person
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Origin

From Pooh-Bah, the name of a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera The Mikado (1885).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

grand poobah. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grand%20poobah

MLA

“grand poobah.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grand%20poobah. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grand poobah,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grand%20poobah.

Source: grand poobah on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.