Meanings
plural head honchos
- informalThe person in charge; the highest-ranking person in an organization.
The head honcho is hard to reach because they are too busy.
2 more examples
As if being head honcho of the Grand Royal empire wasn't demanding enough, Mike D has his own personal business interests, namely the X-Large clothing company he started with two friends, and X-Large's boutiques (in New York, San Francisco and LA, where the Beasties are now based).
2007, Simon Reynolds, Bring the Noise, Soft Skull Press, published 2011, →ISBN, page 182Well, I'm the boss… Head Honcho. El Numero Uno. Mr. Big. The Godfather. Lord of the Rings. The Bourne… Identity. Er… Taxi Driver. Jaws. I forgot the question quite a while back. Who are you, again?
2008, Graham Linehan, “The Speech”, in The IT Crowd, season 3, episode 4 (television production), spoken by Douglas (Matt Berry)Synonyms: big man, big enchilada, grand poobah, baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe person in charge; the highest-ranking person in an organization.
More synonyms by meaning
nounan important influential person
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Finnish kiho
- kihoPerson in charge
French patron, grand chef
- patronPerson in charge
- grand chefPerson in charge
- grand manitouPerson in charge
Hungarian főmufti
- főmuftiPerson in charge
Portuguese mandachuva
- mandachuvaPerson in charge
Russian большая ши́шка
- большая ши́шка (bolʹšaja šíška)Person in charge
Spanish mandamás, mero mero
- mandamásPerson in charge
- mero meroPerson in charge
- mero mero petateroPerson in charge
- mero mero papas fritasPerson in charge
- mero petateroPerson in charge
Swedish högsta hönset
- högsta hönsetPerson in charge
Turkish kodaman
- kodamanPerson in charge
Cite this entry
head honcho. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20honcho
“head honcho.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20honcho. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “head honcho,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/head%20honcho.
Source: head honcho on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.