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A relic of the large U.S. presence in Japan in the years following World War II, the word honcho comes from the Japanese word hanchō meaning “leader of the squad, section, group.” We are uncertain of the exact route by which honcho found its way into American military argot in the mid-1950s, though it is known that the Japanese applied hanchō to British or Australian officers in charge of work parties in prisoner-of-war camps. By the 1960s, the word had become part of colloquial American jargon.
Examples of honcho in a Sentence
the office was all abuzz because some honchos from corporate headquarters were coming for a visit
he's definitely the head honcho in that company
Recent Examples on the Web
Hedge fund honcho Bill Ackman joined a growing list of President Donald Trump's billionaire backers calling for the White House to slam the brakes on tariffs just hours before Trump authorized a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for most countries that went into effect Wednesday morning.
—
Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2025
Warners’ play for Anderson is very much in the vein of late Time Warner honcho Steve Ross with Stanley Kubrick.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 15 Jan. 2025
Pictured below with Capitol Records formidable A&R honcho Carter Gregory at the Vetements show on September 27, Cabello is decked out in this moment’s ragingly trendy see-thru black lace bodysuit, buttressed with a black mini and covered with a giant black coat.
—Guy Martin, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024
Saturday Night Live honcho Lorne Michaels, who previously produced the stage musical adaptation of Mean Girls and Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for honcho
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Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2025
Warners’ play for Anderson is very much in the vein of late Time Warner honcho Steve Ross with Stanley Kubrick.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 15 Jan. 2025
Pictured below with Capitol Records formidable A&R honcho Carter Gregory at the Vetements show on September 27, Cabello is decked out in this moment’s ragingly trendy see-thru black lace bodysuit, buttressed with a black mini and covered with a giant black coat.
—Guy Martin, Forbes, 29 Sep. 2024
Saturday Night Live honcho Lorne Michaels, who previously produced the stage musical adaptation of Mean Girls and Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt.
—Dave Quinn, Peoplemag, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for honcho
Cite this Entry
“Honcho.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honcho. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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