1
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
a police sting that nabbed several kingpins of the city's drug trade
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in leader
the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do
finally nailed the mob kingpin who had been controlling all the gambling rackets in the city
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of kingpin
Popular ballads chronicle the exploits of kingpins.
—
Antón Barba-Kay, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2025
Stiller leapfrogged to the next wrung of Hollywood stardom, becoming a comedy kingpin for the next decade, while De Niro turned his tough guy persona on its head, extending his star power into the 21st century.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 30 May 2025
Speaking on Sunday during a visit to French Guiana, a French territory that borders Suriname and Brazil, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said the facility would house drug kingpins and radical Islamists.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 19 May 2025
Known as a drug kingpin from Jamaica, Queens, Breeze employed a young Kanan Stark, as well as James St. Patrick and Tommy Egan, with the latter two serving as his corner boys, which took place around the same time Season 5 is set.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Antón Barba-Kay, The Atlantic, 26 Apr. 2025
Stiller leapfrogged to the next wrung of Hollywood stardom, becoming a comedy kingpin for the next decade, while De Niro turned his tough guy persona on its head, extending his star power into the 21st century.
—Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 30 May 2025
Speaking on Sunday during a visit to French Guiana, a French territory that borders Suriname and Brazil, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said the facility would house drug kingpins and radical Islamists.
—Jack Guy, CNN Money, 19 May 2025
Known as a drug kingpin from Jamaica, Queens, Breeze employed a young Kanan Stark, as well as James St. Patrick and Tommy Egan, with the latter two serving as his corner boys, which took place around the same time Season 5 is set.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kingpin
Noun
-
Meanwhile in every campaign there usually tends to be one character who emerges as the leader of the party.—
James Grebey,
Rolling Stone,
13 June 2025
-
This situation led me to ask a deeper question: How do other women navigating ongoing medical conditions continue to show up consistently and effectively as leaders?—
Cheryl Robinson,
Forbes.com,
13 June 2025
Noun
-
Gabriel Byrne’s new heavy, the Chancellor, hisses to Castañeda’s doomed daddy as Eve watches in horror.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
5 June 2025
-
At the same time, more of Richie's heavies arrive at the safe house.—
Matt Cabral,
EW.com,
1 June 2025
Noun
-
Leverkusen have appointed former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag as their new head coach.—
David Ornstein,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
-
Ferrari has had four team bosses since 2014, and none of them have been afforded by the Italian press the time necessary to truly turn the team around.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
The versatile Holmgren -- who averaged 8 boards per game in the regular season and is averaging 8.6 rpg in the playoffs -- should play heavy minutes against a Pacers team whose bigs spread the floor.—
Tyler Everett,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 June 2025
-
The backcourt might not be as good, but if Condon and Haugh can make the leap, the Gators could adjust to playing more through their bigs.—
The Athletic College Basketball,
New York Times,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
Amid all that drama, the judge rejected the foreman’s efforts to exit the case and denied a defense motion to get a mistrial declared.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
12 June 2025
-
The judge also said the remaining jurors did not describe anything like the discord and threats recounted by the foreman.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
This group includes finance mogul Stephen Smith, car dealership billionaire Norman Braman, industrial business magnate Harsh Goenka, homebuilder Patrick Neal and five anonymous respondents.—
Phoebe Liu,
Forbes.com,
7 June 2025
-
Media magnate Ted Turner owns more than a dozen ranches across half a dozen states; retired golfer Greg Norman has an almost 12,000-acre game ranch in Colorado‘s White River Valley; and Kanye West has two Montana ranches totaling more than 10,000 acres.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
3 June 2025
Noun
-
His Damn Right Farewell tour is a celebration of his extraordinary career for fans to have the opportunity to witness a blues master at work.—
Philip Potempa,
Chicago Tribune,
12 June 2025
-
So Julie has become the master of this realm inside the cave and inside this enormous pile of bones.—
Ari Daniel,
Smithsonian Magazine,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
With a net worth of $22.7 billion based on a Pop Mart stake, the 38-year-old is the youngest member of the country’s top echelon of tycoons, which includes ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, Nongfu Spring Chairman Zhong Shanshan and Tencent cofounder Ma Huateng.—
Yue Wang,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2025
-
The bizarre political bromance between the most powerful man on Earth and the wealthiest tycoon in the world appeared to be over Thursday as President Trump and Elon Musk traded barbs in the wake of the Tesla mogul’s harsh criticism of his signature Big Beautiful Bill.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
5 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Kingpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kingpin. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share