nabob

[ ney-bob ]

noun

1. any very wealthy, influential, or powerful person.
2. Also a person, especially a European, who has made a large fortune in India or another country of the East.
3. nawab ( def 1 ).

nabob

/ ˈneɪbɒbərɪ; neɪˈbɒbərɪ; ˈneɪbɒb /

noun

1. informal.
   a rich, powerful, or important man
2. (formerly) a European who made a fortune in the Orient, esp in India
3. another name for a nawab

Derived Forms

• ˈnabobish, adjective
• nabobery, noun

Other Words From

• na·bob·er·y [ney, -bob-, uh, -ree, ney-, bob, -, uh, -ree], nabob·ism noun
• nabob·ish na·bobi·cal adjective
• nabob·ish·ly nabob·i·cal·ly adverb
• nabob·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nabob¹

From the Hindi word nawāb, dating back to 1605–15. See nawab

Word History and Origins

Origin of nabob¹

C17: from Portuguese nababo, from Hindi nawwāb; see nawab

Example Sentences

"Tata is too shrewd and too shy to be caught gloating about his successes like some territory-grabbing East India Company nabob," the journalist later wrote.

From BBC

This oilman here was not a nabob like Doheny, but his L.A. oil scandal was going on at the same time.

From Los Angeles Times

Blame it on that idiot Donald Trump if you want, but in fact our world's bad craziness predates that nattering nabob of narcissism.

From Salon

The vice president had a reputation for being President Nixon’s attack dog and skewering political opponents as “nattering nabobs of negativism,” “vicars of vacillation” and “pusillanimous pussyfooters.”

From Seattle Times

Lauck assigns most of the blame for this attitude to scholarly nabobs like Carl Van Doren, who led a “revolt from the village” sentiment that characterized the region as suffused with retrograde Babbittry.

From Washington Post