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Definition of honcho

honcho

/ˈhɑːn.tʃoʊ/
hon · cho
Plural:honchos
•
Past Simple:honchoed
•
Past Participle:honchoed
•
Present Participle:honchoing
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honcho Lexical Profile

honcho Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

North American A leader, manager, or person in charge of an organization, project, or group (often used in the phrase 'head honcho').

Example

"Before we finalize the budget, we need to get approval from the head honcho at corporate headquarters."

Synonyms
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Antonyms
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• verb

1

North American To take charge of, direct, or oversee (a project, operation, or group).

Example

"She was asked to honcho the new marketing campaign through its launch phase."

Synonyms
View all synonyms for honcho
Antonyms
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• Rhymes for honcho

• Nearby Words

homosexually
homs
hon
honcho
honda
honduran
honduran milk snake

Word Origin & Etymology

Borrowed into American English in the late 1940s by military personnel stationed in Japan, from Japanese 'hanchō' (班長), meaning 'group or squad leader,' composed of 'han' (squad) and 'chō' (leader or chief).

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Honcho. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/honcho
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