kingpin

1 one of high position or importance within a group a police sting that nabbed several kingpins of the city's drug trade Synonyms big, big boy, big cheese, bigfoot, biggie, big gun, big leaguer, big-timer, big wheel, bigwig, fat cat, heavy, heavy hitter, heavyweight, high-muck-a-muck (or high-muckety-muck), honcho, kahuna, kingfish, big shot, major leaguer, muckety-muck (also muck-a-muck or mucky-muck), nabob, nawab, nibs, nob [chiefly British], pooh-bah (also poo-bah), wheelRelated Words baron, czar (also tsar or tzar), king, lion, magnate, mogul, prince, tycoon; VIPNear Antonyms inferior, subordinate, underling; mediocrity, obscurityAntonyms lightweight, nobody, nonentity, nothing, shrimp, twerp, whippersnapper, zero, zilch

2 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 Synonyms boss man, captain, chief, foreman, head, headman, helmsman, honcho, jefe, boss, leader, master, taskmasterRelated Words directress, mistress; administrator, commander, director, executive, general, governor, hierarch, higher-up; leadman, manager, overseer, principal, skipper, standard-bearer, steward, straw boss, superintendent, superior, supervisor; dominator, lord, overlord, potentate, ruler, sovereign (also sovran); figurehead; slave driver; baron, czar (also tsar or tzar), king, magnate, mogul, president, prince; big cheese, big gun, bigwig, top dog, top gun; cohead, coleader; employer, gaffer [British], ganger [British]; micromanager; subchief, subdirectorNear Antonyms dependent, inferior, junior, secondary, subject, subordinate, underling