kingpin

king·pin

noun \ˈkiŋ-ˌpin\

Definition of KINGPIN

1

: any of several bowling pins: as a : headpin b : the pin that stands in the middle of a triangular arrangement of bowling pins

2

: the chief person in a group or undertaking

3

a : kingbolt b : a pin connecting the two parts of a knuckle joint (as in an automobile steering linkage)

Examples of KINGPIN

1. kingpins of the movie industry
2. <a police sting that nabbed several kingpins of the city's drug trade>

First Known Use of KINGPIN

1801

Related to KINGPIN

Synonyms: big, big boy, big cheese, bigfoot, biggie, big gun, big leaguer, big-timer, big wheel, bigwig, fat cat, heavy, heavy hitter, heavyweight, high-muck-a-muck (or high-muckety-muck), honcho, kahuna, kingfish, big shot, major leaguer, muckety-muck (also muck-a-muck or mucky-muck), nabob, nawab, nibs, nob [chiefly British], pooh-bah (also poo-bah), wheel

Antonyms: lightweight, nobody, nonentity, nothing, shrimp, twerp, whippersnapper, zero, zilch

Related Words: baron, czar (also tsar or tzar), king, lion, magnate, mogul, prince, tycoon; VIP

Near Antonyms: inferior, subordinate, underling; mediocrity, obscurity

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Rhymes with KINGPIN

add-in, again, akin, all-in, backspin, bearskin, begin, Benin, blow in, Boleyn, bowfin, break-in, bring in, buckskin, build in, built-in, burn-in, butt in, calfskin, call in, call-in, capeskin, cash in, cave-in, chagrin, check in, check-in, chime in, chip in, clothespin, come in, coonskin, crankpin, cut in, deerskin, dig in, doeskin, do in, draw in, drive-in, drop in, duckpin, dustbin, edge in, fade-in, fall in, fill in, fill-in, foreskin, Fuxin, get in, give in, goatskin, go in, Guilin, hairpin, hand in, hang in, Harbin, has-been, headpin, herein, horn in, Jilin, kick in, kidskin, lambskin, lay in, lead-in, lie-in, linchpin, live-in, lived-in, lobe-fin, locked-in, log in, look-in, love-in, moleskin, move in, munchkin, Nankin, ninepin, no-win, oilskin, phone-in, pigskin, pinyin, pitch in, plug-in, plugged-in, pull in, punch in, pushpin, put in, rub in, ruin, run in, run-in, saimin, scarfpin, scarfskin, sealskin, send in, set in, sharkskin, shear pin, sheepskin, shoo-in, shut-in, sidespin, sign in, sit-in, sleep in, sleep-in, sloe gin, snakeskin, sock in, stand in, stand-in, step in, stickpin, suck in, swanskin, swear in, swim fin, tail fin, tailspin, take in, tap-in, teach-in, tenpin, therein, tholepin, threadfin, throw in, tie-in, tiepin, tip-in, toe-in, Tonkin, topspin, trade in, trade-in, tune in, tuned-in, Turin, turn in, unpin, walk-in, wear thin, weigh in, wherein, whip in, wineskin, win-win, within, woolskin, work in, wrist pin, write-in, Yeltsin