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
In season 1, gangster kingpin Wilson Fisk (Vincent D'Onofrio) frames him for a series of bombings, and the two go toe to toe, with Murdock torn between how to bring Fisk to justice.
—
David Faris, TheWeek, 20 Apr. 2026
McKenzie set up an interview with SBF at the height of his wealth and prestige and poked holes in the kingpin’s arguments in favor of crypto.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
David Faris, TheWeek, 20 Apr. 2026
McKenzie set up an interview with SBF at the height of his wealth and prestige and poked holes in the kingpin’s arguments in favor of crypto.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 16 Apr. 2026
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
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kingpin
Noun
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Shares of index heavyweight Softbank surged more than 13%.—
Lee Ying Shan,
CNBC,
6 May 2026
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Over the course of the series, Hart was joined by a roster of comedy heavyweights in evaluating comics from across the country.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
6 May 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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Three Knicks bigs were already being forced to think instead of just play.—
C.J. Holmes,
New York Daily News,
5 May 2026
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The defensive tenacity, the crisp ball movement, the aggression from the bigs.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
4 May 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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Greek shipping tycoons, Morley said, may be intrigued by the glory of owning Onassis’s yacht; Middle Eastern oil magnates could have the means to buy a pricey piece of history.—
Michael Ballaban,
CNN Money,
9 May 2026
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Sportico also reported Thursday that Indian steel magnate Aditya Mittal and former Boston Celtics control owner Wyc Grousbeck were teaming up for a bid.—
Scott Soshnick,
Sportico.com,
7 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 11 May. 2026.
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