Definition of "big shot" [big shot]

• Slang An important or influential person. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Michael Douglas played a lizard of a finance big shot named Gordon Gekko—pretty subtle, eh?"
• "His people make his reservations, so the restaurant owner knew that the big shot Gordon Elliott was coming."
• "Owner Robert Cobb came up with the salad when a Hollywood big shot came in after the kitchen had closed and he had to raid the fridge for a midnight snack."