heavy hitter
Someone with clout
A heavy hitter is someone with significant power, influence, or achievement in their field.
The term comes from baseball, where it describes a batter who hits for power, but now applies broadly: They brought in some heavy hitters from Wall Street, She's a heavy hitter in Democratic politics.
The implication is that this person commands attention and gets results.
Wielder of political influence
- mogulInfluential industry leader
- tycoonDominant industrial leader
- kingpinCriminal organization's leader
- magnateWealthy business leader
oligarch · captain of industry · dealmaker · mover and shaker · luminary · dignitary · elder statesman · tastemaker
Powerful baseball batter
- home run kingAll-time long-ball leader
- batting championHighest average hitter
- grand slamWinning every trick
- long ballHome run hit
all-star · MVP · knockout artist · heavyweight champion · power forward · strongman · powerlifter · dunker
powerbroker
Wielder of political influence
- mogulInfluential industry leader
- tycoonDominant industrial leader
- kingpinCriminal organization's leader
magnate · oligarch · captain of industry · dealmaker · mover and shaker · luminary · dignitary · elder statesman · tastemaker · game-changer
slugger
Powerful baseball batter
- home run kingAll-time long-ball leader
- batting championHighest average hitter
- grand slamWinning every trick
long ball · all-star · MVP · knockout artist · heavyweight champion · power forward · strongman · powerlifter · dunker · linebacker
- bigwigsbigwig, big shot, big wig, VIP, big kahuna
- sports idiomsdrop the ball, throw in the towel, slam dunk, out of left field, level playing field
- sports slangalley-oop, buzzer beater, clutch, dunk, slam dunk
- battingbatting, batter, batsman, bat speed, batting average
- high rollerswhale, VIP, big spender, platinum member, gold member
- powerauthority, electric power, nuclear power, solar power, wind power
heavy hitternobody
Inconsequential person
lightweight · small fry · nonentity · bit player · peon
heavy hitterlightweight
Lacking mass or importance
underachiever · underperformer · featherweight · ineffective · also-ran
heavy hittersmall-timer
Insignificant person or operator
small potatoes · nobody · unknown · small investor · little guy