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
Instead, the often low-rung crews are detained for interrogation, in the hope of shedding light on shady drug kingpins, gang operations and distribution networks.
—
Simon Owen , Greg Palkot, FOXNews.com, 10 Dec. 2025
The documentary claims that Diddy paid drug kingpin Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis to have Shakur killed in 1996.
—Vivian Kwarm, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
After spending a decade and a half in the brains of a meth kingpin and a slimeball attorney, Gilligan wanted his next protagonist to be a force for good.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
The two Californians’ parallel careers launched in San Francisco nearly three decades ago with the city’s storied political kingpin, Willie Brown, mentoring both.
—Dan Walters, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Simon Owen , Greg Palkot, FOXNews.com, 10 Dec. 2025
The documentary claims that Diddy paid drug kingpin Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis to have Shakur killed in 1996.
—Vivian Kwarm, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025
After spending a decade and a half in the brains of a meth kingpin and a slimeball attorney, Gilligan wanted his next protagonist to be a force for good.
—Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 7 Nov. 2025
The two Californians’ parallel careers launched in San Francisco nearly three decades ago with the city’s storied political kingpin, Willie Brown, mentoring both.
—Dan Walters, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for kingpin
Recent Examples of Synonyms for kingpin
Noun
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Zhao's feature also counts Hollywood heavyweights Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes as producers.—
Sydney Bucksbaum,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 Jan. 2026
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Banks, transportation stocks, hotels and small-caps are cooking, helping to offset the cooling-off in several of the tech heavyweights that had large1ly led the S & P’s three-year, 80% advance.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Chiefs’ announcement has energized Missouri leaders around keeping the Royals.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2026
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Drivers will no longer be able to travel straight through the corridor, though county leaders say local access will remain available for people who live or work in the area.—
Nina Burns,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Dark Ages gave us an extremely metal prequel that — while a bit too lore and cutscene-heavy — presented more surprising tricks and gameplay refreshes to keep the long-running FPS series alive and kicking butt.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
26 Dec. 2025
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However, a combination of tariffs, inflation and narrow GDP growth kept the tech-heavy S & P 500 in the lead over the Russell 2000.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
10 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Outbidding the Philadelphia Phillies and former Boston boss Dave Dombrowski for him is about as likely as David Ortiz coming out of retirement to provide the pop this Red Sox lineup needs.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
12 Jan. 2026
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Among the squad of JPMorgan Chase investment bankers flying 2,500 miles west to California to pitch SpaceX was the lender’s boss, billionaire CEO Jamie Dimon, people with knowledge of the trip told CNBC.—
Hugh Son,
CNBC,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The arrangement, a multiyear partnership between two of tech’s biggest bigs, buys Apple more time to get its AI house in order and expands Google’s AI footprint across the global mobile device landscape.—
Andrew Nusca,
Fortune,
13 Jan. 2026
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Sochan has experience defending bigger initiators like Cunningham as well as bigger scoring wings and is also a sharp cutter on offense who has a strong sense of how to play off bigs who can pass and space the court.—
Sam Vecenie,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Noun
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According to the foreman, the jury was leaning toward assigning 55% blame to the Angels and assigning Skaggs with the least amount, at 15%.—
Sydney Barragan,
Oc Register,
20 Dec. 2025
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Juan Antonio Nevarez-Porras, 40, a foreman for Renegade Construction since 2016, was traveling with his 16-year-old son, Jonathan, to Nashville, Tennessee, to visit family and attend the 100th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry, his family said.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Singer island is so named after Paris Singer, a descendant of the Singer Sewing Machine magnate, who began developing the Palm Beach coastline into a national luxury destination in the 1920s.—
Kelsey Glennon,
Southern Living,
7 Jan. 2026
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O’Leary isn’t the only nonprofessional in Marty Supreme’s sprawling cast, which includes rapper Tyler the Creator, real-life table-tennis champion Koto Kawaguchi, filmmaker Abel Ferrara, and supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Residents in a Stockton zip code have reported their mail is being stolen and worry someone may have access to the master postal key.—
Carmela Karcher,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
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She was allowed to study there in her fifth year of college basketball because CU’s Boulder campus does not offer a master’s in criminal justice.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
7 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Kingpin.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/kingpin. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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