Idioms & Expressions
big cheese
Computer-generated voice, not a recording. It may differ from the pronunciation guide.
In short
A big cheese is an important or powerful person in a company, organization, or group. It is an informal, often playful way of describing someone with status or influence.
01 Meaning
What does big cheese mean?
How did cheese become a person?
Big cheese is probably an extension of the older slang that’s the cheese, in which the cheese meant something excellent or important. A Hindustani origin (a word for “thing”) has been proposed for that older phrase, and some dictionaries accept it, but the question is not settled. It is better to treat the precise origin as unresolved.
Tone matters
In casual conversation, the phrase can be admiring or sarcastic; in professional writing, describe the person’s actual role instead.
02 Word origin
Where does it come from?
The history of big cheese is disputed. Although cheese is a familiar food word, the phrase should not be given a confident literal origin story without stronger historical evidence.
03 In context
How to use it in a sentence
“The big cheese from headquarters visited our small office.”
“He likes to act like a big cheese even though he just joined the team.”
Sources and updates
- That’s the cheese: idiom origin, Oxford University Press Blog. Checked October 21, 2026.
- big cheese, Dictionary.com. Checked October 21, 2026.
- big cheese, Cambridge Dictionary. Checked October 21, 2026.
- big cheese, Merriam-Webster. Checked October 21, 2026.
Definitions and examples are written in our own words from the sources above. Published .