Synonyms of kingpins

kingpins

noun

plural of kingpin

1

as in heavyweights

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

• heavyweights
• bigs
• heavies
• wheels
• kings
• tycoons
• magnates
• lions
• bigwigs
• barons
• princes
• nabobs
• biggies
• major leaguers
• queens
• nawabs
• big guns
• heavy hitters
• nobs
• big leaguers
• kahunas
• big wheels
• big boys
• big-timers
• kingfish
• big shots
• nibs
• honchos
• czars
• big cheeses
• pooh-bahs
• princesses
• moguls
• muckety-mucks
• fat cats
• bigfeet
• VIPs
• high-muck-a-mucks

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shrimp
• lightweights
• nobodies
• subordinates
• nonentities
• zeros
• whippersnappers
• underlings
• twerps
• inferiors
• obscurities
• mediocrities
• zilches

2

as in leaders

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

• leaders
• bosses
• foremen
• masters
• chiefs
• captains
• lords
• managers
• commanders
• directors
• heads
• administrators
• overseers
• honchos
• supervisors
• executives
• superintendents
• headmen
• helmsmen
• taskmasters
• presidents
• jefes
• kings
• governors
• generals
• rulers
• principals
• magnates
• boss men
• barons
• overlords
• mistresses
• moguls
• princes
• standard-bearers
• stewards
• skippers
• superiors
• potentates
• dominators
• sovereigns
• czars
• bigwigs
• figureheads
• employers
• leadmen
• hierarchs
• higher-ups
• straw bosses
• directresses
• big guns
• gangers
• coleaders
• top guns
• subchiefs
• gaffers
• micromanagers
• top dogs
• big cheeses
• coheads
• subdirectors

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• subordinates
• subjects
• dependents
• juniors
• secondaries
• underlings
• inferiors

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of kingpins

The children of cartel kingpins enrolled in the city’s top prep schools. — Kevin Sieff, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2026

Their videos work as a modern take on the narcocorridos – ballads about the trafficking underworld that drug kingpins used to praise themselves and communicate with each other, said security expert Alexei Chévez. — Rey Rodríguez, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026

Premiering in 2002, the crime drama depicted life on the streets of Baltimore with uncompromising realism, following a sprawling cast of characters from police officers to drug kingpins. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 2 June 2026

The life-and-death stakes were raised when the former high school series jumped five years to show a now-young adult Rue becoming a drug mule and working for rival kingpins (Martha Kelly’s Laurie also took her own life in the finale). — Jackie Strause, HollywoodReporter, 1 June 2026

The notorious hotspot, now a luxury property, was a fave hangout of violent kingpins, hard-living celebs, dirty cops and crooked politicians. — Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 22 May 2026

New concepts abound as TV-news kingpins work to meet younger viewers in new environments. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 19 May 2026

Just when the officers come up with a plan to arrest Carter and Hakan for their respective drug empires, the kingpins start to become suspicious of their team members and become convinced that they've been infiltrated. — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 12 May 2026

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