verb · transitive · rare

honcho

hon·cho

honcho · honchos · honchoed · honchoing

To lead or manageTo lead or manage.

ⓘ

UK/ˈhɒn.tʃəʊ/US/ˈhɑn.t͡ʃoʊ/

» A customer wanted to know who the head honcho was.

Клиент хотел знать, кто несёт ответственность.

Meaning

1 senses

(Canada, US, informal)To lead or manage.

Examples

4 sentences

A customer wanted to know who the head honcho was.
ruКлиент хотел знать, кто несёт ответственность.
CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
Tom is the head honcho.
CC BY · Tatoeba · CK · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
He's the head honcho.
CC BY · Tatoeba · mailohilohi · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem
She's the head honcho.
CC BY · Tatoeba · mailohilohi · C2Open on Tatoeba Report a problem

Origin

From Japanese 班(はん)長(ちょう) (hanchō, “squad leader”), from 19th c. Mandarin 班長 /班长 (bānzhǎng

From Japanese 班(はん)長(ちょう) (hanchō, “squad leader”), from 19th c. Mandarin 班長 /班长 (bānzhǎng, “team leader”). Probably entered English during World War II: many apocryphal stories describe American soldiers hearing Japanese prisoners-of-war refer to their lieutenants as hanchō.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

honchos, honchoing, honchoed, honchoed

Base form	honcho · to honcho
3rd person singular	honchos
Present participle	honchoing
Past simple	honchoed
Past participle	honchoed

regular · Lesson

Present simpleLesson

I, you, we, they	honcho
he, she, it	honchos

Past simpleLesson

all persons

honchoed

Present perfectLesson

I, you, we, they	have honchoed
he, she, it	has honchoed

Future simple (will)Lesson