king

noun

1
a
: a male monarch of a major territorial unit
especially : one whose position is hereditary and who rules for life
b
: a paramount chief
2
capitalized : god, christ
… to worship the King, the Lord of hosts …Zechariah 14:16 (Revised Standard Version)
3
: one that holds a preeminent position
especially : a chief among competitors
the cattle kings rode up from the south Alan Moorehead
even if no longer king, cotton remains the chief cash crop Howell Walker
4
: the principal piece of each color in chess having the power to move ordinarily one square in any direction and to capture opposing pieces but being obliged never to enter or remain in check
5
: a playing card marked with a stylized figure of a king
6
: a checker that has been crowned
7

Examples of king in a Sentence

He pledged his loyalty to the king and queen. the reign of King James He became king at a young age. He's widely regarded as the king of soul music. He was voted king of the prom. The lion is known as the king of the jungle. She won the game by checkmating his king.
Recent Examples on the Web Obviously, Ralph is king of that kingdom, but there are a lot of interesting players. Josh Condon, Robb Report, 9 Mar. 2024 When West led the king of hearts, nothing (by declarer) should have continued to happen: Dummy can play low. Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024 How Netflix survived the streaming wars to stay the subscription video king. Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Rancho Gordo beans, the king of heirloom bean purveyors, are cloaked in a sweet butternut squash sauce. Detroit Free Press, 6 Mar. 2024 Cash, as the old saying goes, is king, but how much of it does Donald Trump really have? Kyle Mullins, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 The deal became the subject of a Harvard Business School case study and earned Peltz a reputation as one of America’s princely turnaround kings. Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 Best director honors went to Dominican filmmaker Nelson Carlos De Los Santos Arias for Pepe, an unclassifiable mash-up of documentary and fiction about a hippo brought to Colombia by drug king Pablo Escobar. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Feb. 2024 My first climate focus will be for the state to take steps toward solving methane leakage inside older homes and apartments, because most of AD 79’s houses and apartments were built from the 1950s to the 1990s when gas appliances were king. The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'king.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English cyning; akin to Old High German kuning king, Old English cynn kin

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of king was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near king

Cite this Entry

“King.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/king. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

king

noun
1
: a male ruler of a country who usually inherits his position and rules for life
2
: a chief among competitors
an oil king
3
: the chief piece in the game of chess
4
: a playing card bearing the figure of a king
5
: a piece in the game of checkers that has reached the opponent's back row and has been crowned

Biographical Definition

King 1 of 8

biographical name (1)

B. B. 1925–2015 originally Riley B. King American blues musician

King

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biographical name (2)

Billie Jean 1943–     née Moffitt American tennis player

King

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biographical name (3)

Ernest Joseph 1878–1956 American admiral

King

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biographical name (4)

Martin Luther, Jr. 1929–1968 American clergyman and civil rights leader

King

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biographical name (5)

Rufus 1755–1827 American politician and diplomat

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biographical name (6)

Stephen (Edwin) 1947–     American writer

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biographical name (7)

William Lyon Mackenzie 1874–1950 Canadian statesman; prime minister (1921–26; 1926–30; 1935–48)

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biographical name (8)

William Rufus de Vane 1786–1853 American politician; vice president of the U.S. (1853)

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