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kingpin

 - 5 dictionary results

king⋅pin

  [king-pin]
–noun
1. Bowling.
a. headpin.
b. the pin at the center; the number five pin.
2. Informal. the person of chief importance in a corporation, movement, undertaking, etc.
3. Informal. the chief element of any system, plan, or the like.
4. a kingbolt.
5. either of the pins that are a part of the mechanism for turning the front wheels in some automotive steering systems.
Use kingpin in a Sentence
Origin:
1795–1805; king + pin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To kingpin
head·pin   (hěd'pĭn')   
n.   Sports
The foremost pin in an arrangement of bowling pins. Also called kingpin.
king·bolt   (kĭng'bōlt')   
n.  A vertical bolt that joins the body of a wagon or other vehicle to its front axle and usually acts as a pivot. Also called kingpin.
king·pin   (kĭng'pĭn')   
n.  

  1. Sports

    1. The innermost or central pin in an arrangement of bowling pins.

    2. See headpin.

  2. The most important person or element in an enterprise or system.

  3. See kingbolt.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
kingpin

  1. n.
    a major figure in organized crime. (Underworld. From the term for the front bowling pin in a triangular array of pins.) : The drug kingpins are well protected.
  2. n.
    a boss. : My uncle is the kingpin in this organization.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
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