What does bigwig mean?
A bigwig is an important or influential person, typically one holding power in business, politics, or some organization. The term is distinctly informal, and it usually carries a wry or faintly mocking edge: calling someone a bigwig suggests they matter, but it can also imply they are pompous or take themselves too seriously. You might read that 'industry bigwigs gathered for the summit' in a news feature, or hear a colleague grumble about 'the bigwigs upstairs' deciding on office policy. The word traces back to eighteenth-century Britain, when prominent men wore large, elaborately powdered wigs as badges of wealth and status — the biggest wigs belonged to the most important people, and the nickname stuck long after the fashion faded. Today it survives as a handy, slightly cheeky synonym for VIPs, moguls, and top brass, useful whenever you want to acknowledge someone's importance without sounding overly deferential.
nounAn important or influential person, especially one who is self-important or holds a high position in an organization.
- An important, powerful, or high-ranking person, often with a connotation of self-importance.
"Every industry bigwig in the city turned up for the gala dinner."
"A couple of bigwigs from headquarters flew in for the announcement."
"He loved acting like a bigwig at parties, name-dropping everyone he'd ever met."
Standard regular plural; commonly used when referring collectively to a group of powerful people.
"All the local political bigwigs attended the fundraiser."
The word for today's power players comes straight off their heads — in the 1700s, only the truly important could afford the oversized powdered wigs that earned them the name 'big wigs.'
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bigwig
Bigwig originated in late seventeenth- or early eighteenth-century Britain, formed simply by compounding 'big' with 'wig.' It referred literally to the large, powdered periwigs worn by wealthy, powerful men — clergy, judges, aristocrats — whose outsized headwear marked their status. As elaborate wigs went out of fashion, the compound lost its literal sense and settled into its modern figurative meaning of any important person. It shares its ultimate ancestry with 'periwig,' the fuller form of 'wig' borrowed from French 'perruque,' which itself derives from a Germanic source for hair or a hair covering.
Usage notes
Informal and slightly jocular in register; it often carries a mildly derisive or teasing tone, implying pomposity rather than pure respect, so it can be risky in very formal writing.
Don't confuse with
A bigwig is an important person, while a bigot is someone who is intolerantly devoted to their own opinions or prejudices.