"top banana" meaning in English

See top banana in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: En-au-top banana.ogg Forms: top bananas [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} top banana (plural top bananas)
  1. (idiomatic) The boss, the leader. Tags: idiomatic
    Sense id: en-top_banana-en-noun-yLrTzr5R Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Narratology, People, Stock characters Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 94 6 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 93 7 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 94 6 Disambiguation of Narratology: 96 4 Disambiguation of People: 100 0 Disambiguation of Stock characters: 94 6 Synonyms: big cheese, baron, big cheese, big enchilada, big gun, big kahuna, big man, big name, big noise, big shot, bigwig, big wheel, boss, grand poobah, head honcho, heavy hitter, heavyweight, high muckamuck, high muckety-muck, king of all one surveys, king of the castle, king of the hill, kingpin, macher [US], mayor, muckamuck, muckety muck, mugwump [masculine, usually], numero uno, poobah, rooster, somebody, top banana, top cat, top dog, top gun, very important person, VIP, wheel
  2. (idiomatic, dated) The principal comedian in a vaudeville or burlesque show. Tags: dated, idiomatic
    Sense id: en-top_banana-en-noun-13cbu62a Categories (other): Comedy Disambiguation of Comedy: 33 67

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "top bananas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "top banana (plural top bananas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "94 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "93 7",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "94 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "96 4",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Narratology",
          "orig": "en:Narratology",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "100 0",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "People",
          "orig": "en:People",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "94 6",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Stock characters",
          "orig": "en:Stock characters",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              9,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Only the top banana can make a decision of that magnitude.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The boss, the leader."
      ],
      "id": "en-top_banana-en-noun-yLrTzr5R",
      "links": [
        [
          "boss",
          "boss"
        ],
        [
          "leader",
          "leader"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) The boss, the leader."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "big cheese"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "baron"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big cheese"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big enchilada"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big gun"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big kahuna"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big man"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big name"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big noise"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big shot"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "bigwig"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big wheel"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "boss"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "grand poobah"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "head honcho"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "heavy hitter"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "heavyweight"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "high muckamuck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "high muckety-muck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "king of all one surveys"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "king of the castle"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "king of the hill"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "kingpin"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "tags": [
            "US"
          ],
          "word": "macher"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "mayor"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "muckamuck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "muckety muck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "tags": [
            "masculine",
            "usually"
          ],
          "word": "mugwump"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "numero uno"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "poobah"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "rooster"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "somebody"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top banana"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top cat"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top dog"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top gun"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "very important person"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "VIP"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "wheel"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "second banana"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "33 67",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Comedy",
          "orig": "en:Comedy",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              35,
              45
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He was hilarious, and remained the top banana on the tour for years.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The principal comedian in a vaudeville or burlesque show."
      ],
      "id": "en-top_banana-en-noun-13cbu62a",
      "links": [
        [
          "principal",
          "principal"
        ],
        [
          "comedian",
          "comedian"
        ],
        [
          "vaudeville",
          "vaudeville"
        ],
        [
          "burlesque",
          "burlesque"
        ],
        [
          "show",
          "show"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, dated) The principal comedian in a vaudeville or burlesque show."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-top banana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/dc/En-au-top_banana.ogg/En-au-top_banana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/En-au-top_banana.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Top Banana"
  ],
  "word": "top banana"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English nouns",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Comedy",
    "en:Narratology",
    "en:People",
    "en:Stock characters"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "top bananas",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "top banana (plural top bananas)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
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        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
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          "bold_text_offsets": [
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              9,
              19
            ]
          ],
          "text": "Only the top banana can make a decision of that magnitude.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The boss, the leader."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "boss",
          "boss"
        ],
        [
          "leader",
          "leader"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) The boss, the leader."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "big cheese"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "baron"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big cheese"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big enchilada"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big gun"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big kahuna"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big man"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big name"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big noise"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big shot"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "bigwig"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "big wheel"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "boss"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "grand poobah"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "head honcho"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "heavy hitter"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "heavyweight"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "high muckamuck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "high muckety-muck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "king of all one surveys"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "king of the castle"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "king of the hill"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "kingpin"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "tags": [
            "US"
          ],
          "word": "macher"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "mayor"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "muckamuck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "muckety muck"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "tags": [
            "masculine",
            "usually"
          ],
          "word": "mugwump"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "numero uno"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "poobah"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "rooster"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "somebody"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top banana"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top cat"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top dog"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "top gun"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "very important person"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "VIP"
        },
        {
          "source": "Thesaurus:important person",
          "word": "wheel"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "second banana"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English dated terms",
        "English idioms",
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              35,
              45
            ]
          ],
          "text": "He was hilarious, and remained the top banana on the tour for years.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The principal comedian in a vaudeville or burlesque show."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "principal",
          "principal"
        ],
        [
          "comedian",
          "comedian"
        ],
        [
          "vaudeville",
          "vaudeville"
        ],
        [
          "burlesque",
          "burlesque"
        ],
        [
          "show",
          "show"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, dated) The principal comedian in a vaudeville or burlesque show."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "dated",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-top banana.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/dc/En-au-top_banana.ogg/En-au-top_banana.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/En-au-top_banana.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Top Banana"
  ],
  "word": "top banana"
}

Download raw JSONL data for top banana meaning in English (4.2kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-10 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-06-01 using wiktextract (58c391d and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.