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

Despite capturing powerful kingpins like Macías Villamar, and deploying the military to patrol some cities, Ecuador is struggling to contain drug violence. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

Sunday treats us to Chalk It Up regulars and bouncing local rock kingpins the Brodys, flanked by Asesinos, Rose Lyon, Sol Peligro and Leaping Blennies. — Aaron Davis, Sacbee.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Ruthless, uncompromising, and increasingly feared, Tony rises from low-level criminal to one of Miami’s most powerful cocaine kingpins. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 1 Sep. 2026

The track, which calls to mind the Killers and other kingpins of synth-rock, is also a preview of New Translations’ forthcoming album, the follow-up to their 2025 debut Vacation. — Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026

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

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