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
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
Colombian authorities, with the assistance of the United States, killed drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in 1993.
—Abigail R. Hall, Oc Register, 30 Mar. 2026
In a few short years, Prager had carved out an expansive life as a Caribbean kingpin, transforming the ramshackle smuggling operation into a sophisticated, multicrew organization that moved tens of thousands of pounds of pot.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
Birdville aims to take down 5A kingpin With just about 10 seconds left in a Class 5A Division I regional final, Birdville’s Avery Webb stepped back for what could be the highest stakes shot of the UIL Texas high school basketball season.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Sopheng Cheang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Apr. 2026
Colombian authorities, with the assistance of the United States, killed drug kingpin Pablo Escobar in 1993.
—Abigail R. Hall, Oc Register, 30 Mar. 2026
In a few short years, Prager had carved out an expansive life as a Caribbean kingpin, transforming the ramshackle smuggling operation into a sophisticated, multicrew organization that moved tens of thousands of pounds of pot.
—Jack Crosbie, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2026
Birdville aims to take down 5A kingpin With just about 10 seconds left in a Class 5A Division I regional final, Birdville’s Avery Webb stepped back for what could be the highest stakes shot of the UIL Texas high school basketball season.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kingpin
Noun
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Sachs is joined in competition by a lot of international heavyweights.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
9 Apr. 2026
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Boutros said the work didn’t end with the recent convictions of political heavyweights like Ald.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch visits the Well-Safe Protector Oil Rig at Aberdeen's South Harbour, on March 30, 2026 in Aberdeen, Scotland.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
15 Apr. 2026
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Lawmakers took up the issue Tuesday, considering the challenges city and county leaders face trying to balance economic opportunity with environmental impacts.—
Ubah Ali,
CBS News,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Laser writes energy circuits Unlike conventional energy storage devices that rely on synthetic materials and chemical-heavy processes, this method uses a natural substrate and a single-step fabrication process.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
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Fort Worth’s luxury Bowie House hotel opened with a beef-heavy menu.—
Bud Kennedy,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Take the quiz here … DUGOUT DANGER — Grand slam redemption follows terrifying moment when batter nails his own boss.—
,
FOXNews.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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The Kroenkes last June hired Jon Wallace to be Denver’s new executive vice president of player personnel, snapping him up from … Minnesota, where Wallace worked in the Twin Cities under Connelly, his old Nuggets boss, for three seasons.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Still, today’s NBA values bigs who can either shoot from the perimeter, or have crazy length and can defend, rebound and block shots, and run in transition.—
Kels Dayton,
Hartford Courant,
8 Apr. 2026
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Luka Garza, who’s played well in most of his appearances since late December, is another viable option if Vucevic scuffles, or if Mazzulla opts to play three bigs.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The property includes three residences — a main ranch house, a foreman’s cabin and guest quarters — along with a barn and multiple outbuildings.—
Julianna Duennes Russ,
Austin American Statesman,
8 Apr. 2026
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Nusku encouraged his fellow Igigi to rebel by setting fire to their tools and surrounding the house of Ellil, an Anunnaki leader and their foreman.—
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei,
ARTnews.com,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In a pink, chandeliered room in the Gilded Age mansion of a dead steel magnate, the past and present melded in a manner that was both unsettling and affirming.—
Emilia Petrarca,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Adelson is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson and is a physician, philanthropist, and major GOP donor.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Carlock and Means are masters at fourth-wall-breaking structure and winking, metatextual dialogue, and their ability to balance the goofiness of the series’ diversions with its straightforwardly heartwarming main narrative made each episode a breezy watch.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
14 Apr. 2026
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Consequently, the most famous masters of this era, like Peter Abelard, made their careers, in part, by cutting down competitors.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kingpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kingpin. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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