kingmaker

noun

king·​mak·​er ˈkiŋ-ˌmā-kər 

: one having great influence over the choice of candidates for political office

Examples of kingmaker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Costa seeks a deeper understanding of the wave of Pentecostalism that is reshaping the country—and particularly of the relationship between Bolsonaro and his spiritual kingmaker, a sixty-six-year-old pastor named Silas Malafaia. —Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025

One-time Republican kingmaker and Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s Cybertruck electric vehicles were torched in March. —Alexandra Glorioso, Miami Herald, 10 Sep. 2025

Casting the sweet-faced and unflappably mellow Dano — Eli Sunday his Vadim Baranov is not — as Putin’s kingmaker also assures that Assayas isn’t keen on high drama, with conversations in conference rooms plotting totalitarian takeover rarely rising above library-voice level. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 31 Aug. 2025

Comedy kingmaker Lorne Michaels is weighing in on the tumult in late-night television. —Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 23 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for kingmaker

• blackacre
• caretaker
• clockmaker
• dressmaker
• filmmaker
• homemaker
• icebreaker
• lawmaker
• matchmaker
• pacemaker
• partaker
• peacemaker