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 of kingpin

• heavyweight
• heavy
• big
• magnate
• tycoon

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

Jim McCloskey, Centurion’s founder, managed to arrange a prison interview with a notorious Kansas City drug kingpin named Cecil Brooks, who was rumored to have ordered the hit on Quinn. —Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026

The tech kingpin also seemed to shrug off reports from within his own inner circle, according to documents produced in discovery, that warned a sizable section of users were under the age of 13. —Dominic Patten, Deadline, 18 Feb. 2026

The 6-foot-5 Noonan played drug kingpin Cain in RoboCop 2 (1990) and the Ripper in Last Action Hero (1993) by John McTiernan. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 18 Feb. 2026

The bubble popped in 2022 thanks to the unraveling of two crypto kingpins, Do Kwon and Sam Bankman-Fried, and the ensuing regulatory crackdown. —Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1773, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for kingpin

• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin
• foreskin
• fuchsin
• herein
• linchpin
• pigskin
• pinyin
• puffin

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