1
as in heavyweight
one of high position or importance within a group
a police sting that nabbed several kingpins of the city's drug trade
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in leader
the person (as an employer or supervisor) who tells people and especially workers what to do
finally nailed the mob kingpin who had been controlling all the gambling rackets in the city
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of kingpin
The indictment paints this picture of you as the kingpin of this operation who helped structure how victims were targeted and how money was made.
—
Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
Colin Jost is going from anchorman to kingpin.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 2026
An Albanian drug kingpin with a lavish lifestyle was sentenced for plotting with a Detroit-area businessman to build a cocaine-smuggling submarine that helped power a multimillion-dollar narcotics operation.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Cambodia passed unprecedented legislation Monday imposing life imprisonment for scam kingpins as the nation vows to eliminate cyber fraud operations by month’s end.
—Sopheng Cheang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 3 Apr. 2026
Colin Jost is going from anchorman to kingpin.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Apr. 2026
An Albanian drug kingpin with a lavish lifestyle was sentenced for plotting with a Detroit-area businessman to build a cocaine-smuggling submarine that helped power a multimillion-dollar narcotics operation.
—Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 1 Apr. 2026
Cambodia passed unprecedented legislation Monday imposing life imprisonment for scam kingpins as the nation vows to eliminate cyber fraud operations by month’s end.
—Sopheng Cheang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kingpin
Noun
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And though the Innere Stadt is where most tourists stay, Vienna isn’t rammed like Paris; there are plenty of Viennese out and about, especially at the neighborhood’s cultural heavyweights.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Apr. 2026
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There’s a new heavyweight ruling Pier 39 — and tourists can’t stop filming him.—
Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The crowd includes top business leaders, including Apple’s Tim Cook and NVIDIA's Jensen Huang.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
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Senior defender Peyton Johnson, Elizabeth’s older sister, is Oswego’s other team leader.—
Patrick Z. McGavin,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Scoring more than 50% off on these bass-heavy icons is a total win for your playlist and your pocket.—
Juhi Wadia,
PC Magazine,
29 Apr. 2026
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The only caution is that the Chiefs were drafting from a position of strength and still leaned projection-heavy on a few picks, but that is a very small complaint for a very sharp weekend.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Menin has supported Wilson, Bottcher’s former chief of staff, who had his ex-boss’s blessing in the race.—
Josephine Stratman,
New York Daily News,
29 Apr. 2026
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On behalf of everyone at Disney, on behalf of [new CEO] Josh [D’Amaro] and [Disney Entertainment, Studios, chairman] Alan Bergman and [FX boss] John Landgraf and Debra OConnell, our new head of Disney Entertainment Television.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Some bigs take longer to develop than others in their age group.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
28 Apr. 2026
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The Spurs pulled off a comeback win in the second half of Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead without Wembanyama; Luke Kornet started in his place, and rookie Carter Bryant had a successful run as the backup big.—
Jared Weiss,
New York Times,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Mentorship opens unexpected doors The shop foreman at Sam Pack encouraged him to take advantage of industry certification opportunities at Dallas College while also pursuing a degree.—
Robbie Owens,
CBS News,
24 Apr. 2026
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Chavez, who worked as a construction foreman at the lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico, disappeared in May 2025.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In February of 2017, the British business magnate Richard Branson posted photos of Obama learning to kite surf off Branson’s private island, in the Caribbean.—
Peter Slevin,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
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Manny Kadre, the Miami auto magnate and chair of the board of trustees, is on the inside, too.—
Dave Hyde,
Sun Sentinel,
2 May 2026
Noun
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This new iteration was partly handled by Room40 label boss Lawrence English, who reconstructed the original master tapes and blended them with recent performances by Lockwood and Vanessa Tomlinson, who plays the gong.—
Joshua Minsoo Kim,
Pitchfork,
28 Apr. 2026
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Leaders of the gardens have been undergoing a master planning effort for more than a year in an effort to accommodate visitation of the botanical garden doubling to more than 300,000 people annually over the past decade.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kingpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kingpin. Accessed 6 May. 2026.
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