Meaning & use

honcho

noun·Everyday

The person in charge of something, especially the leader or most important figure in a group.

See it in a sentence

He's the head honcho at the small marketing firm downtown.

Nobody made a final decision until the honcho arrived and gave his approval.

A note on using this word

Honcho, from the Japanese 'hancho' meaning squad leader, is informal and most common in the phrase 'head honcho'.

Words with a similar meaning

bosschief

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

underling

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