kahuna

/kəˈhuːnə/
noun
  1. In Hawaiian culture, a priest, healer, or expert in a particular field, such as navigation or medicine.
    • The kahuna used his knowledge of the stars to guide the fishermen.
    • The village kahuna performed a ceremony to bless the new canoe.
    • She studied under a famous kahuna to learn the ancient art of healing.
  2. An important or powerful person; a big shot (informal, often used in surfing culture).
    • After winning the competition, he felt like the big kahuna of the surfing world.
    • In that group of friends, she's the kahuna who makes all the decisions.
    • The boss is the kahuna around here, so you'd better ask him.
What does "kahuna" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean