numero uno

noun

The most important of a group.

“In his business ventures, he always looks after numero uno.”

Similar
baronbig cheesebig enchiladabig gunbig kahunabig manbig namebig noise
OriginSpanish número uno ← Italian numero uno →
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Meanings

nounnumero uno (plural numero unos)

plural numero unos

  1. informalThe most important of a group.

    Our internal airwaves are priority numero uno. Good news? You’re the spin master; you’re in charge.

    2023 November 14, Beth Romero, “Be a Weeble”, in Happy AF: Simple Strategies to Get Unstuck, Bounce Back, and Live Your Best Life, Berkeley, Calif.: She Writes Press, →ISBN, chapter 1 (The Art of Letting Go, Bouncing Back, and Being)

    Synonyms: baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna, big man, big name, big noise

  2. informalOneself, especially one’s own interests.

    In his business ventures, he always looks after numero uno.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe most important of a group.

Similar
baronbig cheesebig enchiladabig gunbig kahunabig manbig namebig noisebig shotbigwigbig wheelbossgrand poobahhead honchoheavy hitterheavyweighthigh muckamuckhigh muckety-muckking of all one surveysking of the castle

Origin

  1. Italiannumero uno
  2. Spanishnúmero uno
  3. Englishnumero uno

From either Spanish número uno or Italian numero uno. Piecewise doublet of number one.

More words from Spanish, Italian

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

Source: numero uno on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.