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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.
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Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2025
Continue reading … BIDEN'S BORDER – NY Times honcho details just how unpopular Biden's immigration policies were.
—Fox News, 5 Mar. 2025
As for Michaels, he got involved at the behest of Mick Jagger, who asked the SNL honcho to return to his hometown of Toronto to testify on the guitarist’s behalf (Jagger arranged a private plane for Michaels, too).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2025
Some fans took Drake’s fashion choices as symbolic, with the OVO honcho rocking a hoodie riddled with holes across it.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for honcho
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Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 9 Apr. 2025
Continue reading … BIDEN'S BORDER – NY Times honcho details just how unpopular Biden's immigration policies were.
—Fox News, 5 Mar. 2025
As for Michaels, he got involved at the behest of Mick Jagger, who asked the SNL honcho to return to his hometown of Toronto to testify on the guitarist’s behalf (Jagger arranged a private plane for Michaels, too).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 18 Feb. 2025
Some fans took Drake’s fashion choices as symbolic, with the OVO honcho rocking a hoodie riddled with holes across it.
—Michael Saponara, Billboard, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for honcho
Cite this Entry
“Honcho.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honcho. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.
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