Synonyms of kingpin

kingpin

noun

ˈkiŋ-ˌpin 

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

• heavyweight
• heavy
• big
• magnate
• tycoon
• king
• lion
• queen
• bigwig
• honcho
• baron
• wheel
• prince
• nabob
• major leaguer
• big boy
• nawab
• big wheel
• biggie
• mucky-muck
• czar
• big gun
• big leaguer
• kingfish
• heavy hitter
• kahuna
• nob
• mogul
• bigfoot
• big cheese
• fat cat
• princess
• nibs
• pooh-bah
• muckety-muck
• tsar
• muck-a-muck
• high-muckety-muck
• poo-bah
• big-timer
• big shot
• tzar
• high-muck-a-muck
• VIP

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• nobody
• nothing
• shrimp
• lightweight
• zero
• nonentity
• subordinate
• whippersnapper
• twerp
• underling
• zilch
• obscurity
• mediocrity
• inferior

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• leader
• boss
• foreman
• master
• chief
• captain
• manager
• commander
• director
• lord
• head
• honcho
• overseer
• administrator
• headman
• superintendent
• jefe
• supervisor
• helmsman
• taskmaster
• executive
• boss man
• president
• governor
• king
• overlord
• principal
• ruler
• mistress
• magnate
• general
• mogul
• steward
• czar
• baron
• skipper
• prince
• leadman
• dominator
• potentate
• superior
• figurehead
• standard-bearer
• employer
• sovereign
• tsar
• straw boss
• directress
• bigwig
• higher-up
• big gun
• top dog
• tzar
• hierarch
• sovran
• ganger
• coleader
• top gun
• gaffer
• big cheese
• cohead
• micromanager
• subchief
• subdirector

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• secondary
• dependent
• subject
• junior
• subordinate
• underling
• inferior

Examples of kingpin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Harrell’s version of fashion and urban culture referenced Nicky Barnes, the flashy drug kingpin and man-about-town who once graced the cover of the New York Times Magazine: designer suits, expensive cars and flowing champagne. —Amy Dubois Barnett, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Oct. 2024

At that point, the young Tariq didn’t even know his father was himself a kingpin known on the streets as Ghost (Hardwick). —Ronda Racha Penrice, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Oct. 2024

First used in the war on drugs against kingpins, the practice has since become dubious and discredited. —Ken Makin, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Oct. 2024

Also on the main card is a bantamweight bout between ex-UFC featherweight kingpin Jose Aldo and Mario Bautista. —Trent Reinsmith, Forbes, 4 Oct. 2024