kingpin

noun

king·​pin ˈkiŋ-ˌpin 

1

: the chief person in a group or undertaking

2

: any of several bowling pins: such as

a

: headpin

b

: the pin that stands in the middle of a triangular arrangement of bowling pins

3

a

: kingbolt

b

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

Synonyms

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

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

To his credit, Pacino knows his drug kingpin Tony Montana is a lot to handle. —Harrison Richlin, IndieWire, 19 Oct. 2024

Ferguson was recently on a video with former UFC flyweight champion and ONE Championship kingpin Demetrious Johnson. —Brian Mazique, Forbes, 15 Oct. 2024

The scene ends with a bloody mess, as Jules rebukes Brett for his attempts to double-cross the kingpin. —Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2024

The film follows a ragtag team of vigilante Redditors who, after losing everything in a cryptocurrency scam, attempt to track down and kidnap the elusive crypto empire kingpin responsible for their sudden financial ruin. —Katcy Stephan, Variety, 9 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

kingpin

noun

king·​pin ˈkiŋ-ˌpin 

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