kingmaker

noun

king·​mak·​er ˈkiŋ-ˌmā-kər How to pronounce kingmaker (audio)
: one having great influence over the choice of candidates for political office

Examples of kingmaker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But coalition politics could still prompt her to seek an alliance with Italy’s far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose party — which has neo-Fascist roots — emerged as the election’s big winner, leaving her positioned to play the role of political kingmaker. Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2024 Still, the Identity and Democracy group may end up being a kingmaker. Lenora Chu, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 June 2024 Von der Leyen’s European People’s Party, a largely Christian Democrat group, is the legislature’s biggest and bound to be the coalition kingmaker after the elections. Eli Joseph, Fortune Europe, 5 June 2024 Two regional parties in particular would be kingmakers: the Telugu Desam Party, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, with 16 seats, and the Janata Dal (United) party in the eastern state of Bihar, with 12. Pragati K.b. Atul Loke, New York Times, 4 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for kingmaker 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kingmaker.' 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

1595, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kingmaker was in 1595

Dictionary Entries Near kingmaker

Cite this Entry

“Kingmaker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kingmaker. Accessed 18 Jun. 2024.

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