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

The 75-year-old French kingpin Arnault, who oversees fashion empire LVMH with a net worth of $233 billion, led the record-breaking pack of 2,781 billionaires—more than ever before. —Byeleanor Pringle, Fortune, 3 Apr. 2024

Standing in for the druggy Mutiny Hotel in Coral Gables, Fla., where the kingpin confabs take place, is the ballroom of the Queen Mary and an ‘80s-era hotel in the City of Industry. —Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2024

After her split with Hunter, Rush was married to PR kingpin Cowan from 1959 to 1968 (their wedding ceremony took place at the Beverly Hills home of Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh) and to sculptor James Gruzalski from 1970 to 1973. —Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Mar. 2024

The emergency mandate also bars inmates from establishing any contact with individuals outside the prison, including lawyers, relatives, or associates, thereby preventing kingpins from continuing to run their groups from behind bars. —Gustavo Flores-Macías, Foreign Affairs, 20 Mar. 2024

Stock-market kingpin Nvidia may have seen its value skyrocket because of AI’s possibilities, but its revenues were undergirded by a massive base of game players acquiring its graphics cards. —David Bloom, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

The 30-year-old YouTube kingpin makes money from sponsorship deals with brands, merchandise sales, and a whole lot of ad revenue from YouTube. —Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2024

An image of the event showed the kingpin posing in front of what appears to be a birthday cake. —Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024

The entire industry depends on this, the jaws of the fifth wheel clamping properly around the kingpin. —Emily Gogolak, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 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