KINGPINS Synonyms: 120 Similar and Opposite Words

kingpins

noun

plural of kingpin

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of kingpins 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 The legislation also ignores the reality that as the kingpins in the SEC and Big Ten have gotten really rich, the other leagues have seen healthy returns and profits as well at roughly the same pace. —

Stephen Moore, Boston Herald, 5 Mar. 2026 In Culiacan, in neighboring Sinaloa state, home to a cartel of the same name, there is a cemetery known for its luxury crypts and mausoleums for one-time kingpins like Ignacio Coronel - an old associate of El Mencho - and Arturo Beltrán Leyva. —

CBS News, 3 Mar. 2026 In Culiacan, in neighboring Sinaloa state, home to a cartel of the same name, there is a cemetery known for its luxury crypts and mausoleums for one-time kingpins like Ignacio Coronel — an old associate of El Mencho — and Arturo Beltrán Leyva. —

CNN Money, 3 Mar. 2026 In Culiacan, in neighboring Sinaloa state, home to a cartel of the same name, there is a cemetery known for its luxury crypts and mausoleums for one-time kingpins like Ignacio Coronel — an old associate of El Mencho — and Arturo Beltrán Leyva. —

ABC News, 2 Mar. 2026 Oseguera was one of the most wanted cartel kingpins in Mexico and the United States. —

Alexandra Mendoza, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Feb. 2026 Prior to becoming one of the largest cartel kingpins in Mexico, El Mencho had started his drug business career on the streets of San Francisco throughout the mid-1980s to early 1990s, according to reporting from the Louisville Courier Journal. —

Noe Padilla, USA Today, 24 Feb. 2026 The bubble popped in 2022 thanks to the unraveling of two crypto kingpins, Do Kwon and Sam Bankman-Fried, and the ensuing regulatory crackdown. —

Will Gottsegen, The Atlantic, 11 Feb. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for kingpins

Noun

Executives at Oracle have already signed several deals with Silicon Valley heavyweights to bring their business closer to that objective, Ives added.

— Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026
Ne-Yo, who has been collaborating with Nashville heavyweights like Luke Laird, Rhett Akins, and Charles Kelley of Lady A, has been slowly releasing some of the music he’s recorded in Nashville.

— Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 22 Apr. 2026