| 1. | a baseball player who makes many extra-base hits. |
| 2. | a very important or influential person: the secretary of state and other heavy hitters. |
| heavy hitter n. One that is predominant, as in influence or power: "Especially when a candidate is a challenger, appearances with heavy hitters from the party lend an air of credibility" (Linda Feldmann). |
| Main Entry: | heavy hitter1 |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | See big hitter |
heavy hitter
An important or influential individual or organization. For example, This publishing house is one of the heavy hitters in the textbook industry. This expression originated in sports such as boxing, where it literally meant "hitting hard," and was transferred to other enterprises in the mid-1900s.
