big man

noun

A male member of a tribe who wields great status and influence, especially in Melanesia and Polynesia.

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big guy
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Meanings

nounbig man (plural big men)

plural big men

  1. anthropologyA male member of a tribe who wields great status and influence, especially in Melanesia and Polynesia.
  2. governmentA corrupt, autocratic ruler.
  3. figurativelyAn alpha male.

    “There's a lot of big men on campus,” said one investor close to some of Meta's AI leaders.

    2025 August 30, Hannah Murphy, George Hammond, Cristina Criddle, “Staff exits hit Zuckerberg’s AI plans”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1
  4. informalAmerican footballA lineman.
  5. endearingSynonym of big guy (“term of endearment”).

    Synonyms: big guy

Synonyms & antonyms

nounSynonym of big guy (“term of endearment”).

Similar
big guy
Also see
baronbig cheesebig daddybig enchiladabig gunbig guybig namebig shotbig wheelbigwiggrand vizierhead honchoking of the castleking of the hillking of the junglekingpinmachermaster of the universemuckamuckmuckety muckmugwumpnumero unopanjandrumtop bananatop gun
Cite this entry
APA

big man. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20man

MLA

“big man.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20man. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “big man,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/big%20man.

Source: big man on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.