Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person who is rich and influential.
  • noun A wealthy supporter of a political campaign.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun slang A rich person who contributes to a political campaign.
  • noun slang Any affluent person who is perceived to have profited from the labour of others.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a wealthy and privileged person

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

The word was first used in the 1920s in the United States to describe rich political donors.

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Examples

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Comments

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  • A fat cat is a person who makes a lot of money and enjoys a privileged position in society.

    May 21, 2008

  • Sample.

    May 31, 2009

  • The fat cats on the Jeju school board have a sheen of incompetency wherewith to glaze their privilege

    June 1, 2009