kingpin

noun

king·​pin ˈkiŋ-ˌpin How to pronounce kingpin (audio)
1
: the chief person in a group or undertaking
2
: any of several bowling pins: such as
a
b
: the pin that stands in the middle of a triangular arrangement of bowling pins
3
a
b
: a pin connecting the two parts of a knuckle joint (as in an automobile steering linkage)

Examples of kingpin in a Sentence

kingpins of the movie industry a police sting that nabbed several kingpins of the city's drug trade
Recent Examples on the Web Daniel Miller and Ruben Vives report of the food truck kingpin accused of taking money for trucks that were never delivered. Laurie Ochoa, Los Angeles Times, 2 Mar. 2024 The drug kingpin was also able to have a string of women visit him while he was incarcerated, the source said. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024 The prolific producer and comedy kingpin has not announced any plans to retire or step away from SNL. Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2024 If DeMaio ends up facing Hayes in November, that could upend in his grand plan to arrive in Sacramento as something of a kingpin. Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2024 The camera panned to the drug kingpin looming over Ronnie’s dead body in the final minutes of the finale episode, as moments before, Kanan Stark (Mekai Curtis) had shot him. Julia Moore, Peoplemag, 10 Feb. 2024 Who says drug kingpins aren’t into the finer things in life? (Netflix) I’ve been fascinated by the show for a variety of reasons. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2024 Numerous charges have been leveled against the alleged kingpin, including for murder, kidnapping, assault, racketeering, bank fraud, use of a chemical weapon and cocaine distribution. Christina Coulter, Fox News, 9 Jan. 2024 Consider that when Stewart was last the host, Bill O’Reilly was the kingpin at Fox and the possibility of Donald Trump in the Oval Office was a joke. Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kingpin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of kingpin was in 1773

Dictionary Entries Near kingpin

Cite this Entry

“Kingpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kingpin. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

kingpin

noun
king·​pin ˈkiŋ-ˌpin How to pronounce kingpin (audio)
1
: a pin that stands in the middle of a triangular arrangement of bowling pins
also : headpin
2
: the chief person in a group or undertaking
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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