Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The innermost or central pin in an arrangement of bowling pins.
- noun The most important person or element in an enterprise or system.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun motorized vehicles The
axis around whichsteered wheels pivot ; abolt that holds the axis in place—akingbolt . - noun ten pin bowling The
pin at the centre of thetriangle ofbowling pins (originally the tallest pin inkayles ). Sometimes also theheadpin at theapex . - noun The most
important person in anundertaking ororganization . - noun The bolt holding together the
truck of aroller skate orskateboard .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the most important person in a group or undertaking
- noun bolt that provides a steering joint in a motor vehicle
- noun the front bowling pin in the triangular arrangement of ten pins
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Now it reminds me of a Jamie Oliver episode: Google, the Internet search kingpin, is conducting a huge search of its own: It is scouring the world for a pair of executive chefs.
Googleplex-ees Hungry Ben Barren 2005
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
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Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the world and is sometimes referred to as the kingpin of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
bilby commented on the word kingpin
"A people-smuggling kingpin has been found among Tamils on a boat they are refusing to leave at an Indonesian port, potentially bolstering efforts to disrupt a wave of illegal arrivals in Australia. Abraham Lauhenapessy, known as Captain Bram, has brought more than 1500 asylum seekers to Australia since he emerged as a pivotal organiser of Indonesia's people-smuggling operations in 1999."
- Lindsay Murdoch & Mark Davis, People-smuggler arrested on Tamil boat, theage.com.au, 19 October 2009.
October 19, 2009
bilby commented on the word kingpin
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March 20, 2011