KINGPIN

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does kingpin mean? 

• KINGPIN (noun)
  The noun KINGPIN has 3 senses:

1. the most important person in a group or undertaking

2. bolt that provides a steering joint in a motor vehicle

3. the front bowling pin in the triangular arrangement of ten pins

  Familiarity information: KINGPIN used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• KINGPIN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The most important person in a group or undertaking

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

bigwig; kingpin; top banana

Hypernyms ("kingpin" is a kind of...):

important person; influential person; personage (a person whose actions and opinions strongly influence the course of events)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Bolt that provides a steering joint in a motor vehicle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

kingbolt; kingpin; swivel pin

Hypernyms ("kingpin" is a kind of...):

bolt (a screw that screws into a nut to form a fastener)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The front bowling pin in the triangular arrangement of ten pins

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

headpin; kingpin

Hypernyms ("kingpin" is a kind of...):

bowling pin; pin (a club-shaped wooden object used in bowling; set up in triangular groups of ten as the target)