fat cat

noun

1
a
: a wealthy contributor to a political campaign fund
b
: a wealthy and privileged person
c
2
: a lethargic complacent person
fat-cat adjective

Examples of fat cat in a Sentence

The best seats in the theater were reserved for the fat cats. that last recession was particularly hard on the poor, but the fat cats barely noticed a dip in their bank accounts
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Namely, many ordinary Indians apparently took enormous glee at the prospect that the sudden invalidation of high-denomination currency notes would put fat cats with large cash holdings in a bind. Milan Vaishnav, Foreign Affairs, 15 Mar. 2017 Poor poll numbers caused panicky Democratic Party oligarchs and fat cat donors to oust him as their candidate. Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2024 But Bergman’s the sort of lawyer who strikes fear in fat cats’ hearts. Paul Solotaroff, Rolling Stone, 17 June 2024 So if a fat cat wrote a check for $10,000 to a candidate for Senate, there would be a match on $250. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 8 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for fat cat 

Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of fat cat was in 1928

Dictionary Entries Near fat cat

Cite this Entry

“Fat cat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fat%20cat. Accessed 13 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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