king
noun
a male sovereign or monarch; a man who holds by life tenure, and usually by hereditary right, the chief authority over a country and people.
king
1 American
[king]
/ kɪŋ /
noun
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kings
plural
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a male sovereign or monarch; a man who holds by life tenure, and usually by hereditary right, the chief authority over a country and people.
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(initial capital letter) God or Christ.
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a person or thing preeminent in its class.
a king of actors.
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a playing card bearing a picture of a king.
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Chess. the chief piece of each color, whose checkmating is the object of the game; moved one square at a time in any direction.
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Checkers. a piece that has been moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, thus allowing it to be moved in any direction.
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Entomology. a fertile male termite.
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a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter K.
verb (used with object)
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kings,
present (3rd person singular)
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kinged,
past participle, past
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kinging
present participle
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to make a king of; cause to be or become a king; crown.
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Informal. to design or make (a product) king-size.
The tobacco company is going to king its cigarettes.
verb (used without object)
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kings,
present (3rd person singular)
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kinged,
past participle, past
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kinging
present participle
adjective
verb phrase
King
2
American
[king]
/ kɪŋ /
noun
-
Billie Jean (Moffitt) born 1943, U.S. tennis player.
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Clarence, 1842–1901, U.S. geologist and cartographer.
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Coretta Scott 1927–2006, U.S. civil rights leader (widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.)
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Ernest Joseph, 1878–1956, U.S. naval officer.
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Martin Luther, Jr., MLK, 1929–68, U.S. Baptist minister: civil rights leader; Nobel Peace Prize 1964.
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Maxine Micki, born 1944, U.S. springboard and platform diver.
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Richard, 1825–85, U.S. rancher and steamboat operator.
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Riley B. B.B., 1925–2015, U.S. blues singer and guitarist.
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Rufus, 1755–1827, U.S. political leader and statesman.
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Stephen, born 1947, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
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William Lyon Mackenzie, 1874–1950, Canadian statesman: prime minister 1921–26, 1926–30, 1935–48.
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William Rufus DeVane 1786–1853, vice president of the U.S. 1853.
king
1
British
/ kɪŋ /
noun
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a male sovereign prince who is the official ruler of an independent state; monarch
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a ruler or chief
king of the fairies
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( in combination )
the pirate king
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a person, animal, or thing considered as the best or most important of its kind
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( as modifier )
a king bull
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any of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a king
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the most important chess piece, although theoretically the weakest, being able to move only one square at a time in any direction See also check checkmate
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draughts a piece that has moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, after which it may move backwards as well as forwards
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God
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a title of any of various oriental monarchs
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verb
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to make (someone) a king
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to act in a superior fashion
King
2
British
/ kɪŋ /
noun
-
B.B., real name Riley B. King. born 1925, US blues singer and guitarist
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Billie Jean (née Moffitt ). born 1943, US tennis player: winner of twelve Grand Slam singles titles, including Wimbledon (1966–68, 1972–73, and 1975) and the US Open (1967, 1971–72, and 1974)
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Martin Luther. 1929–68, US Baptist minister and civil-rights leader. He advocated nonviolence in his campaigns against the segregation of Black people in the South: assassinated: Nobel Peace Prize 1964
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Stephen ( Edwin ). born 1947, US writer esp of horror novels; his books, many of which have been filmed, include Carrie (1974), The Shining (1977), Misery (1988), and Everything's Eventual (2002)
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William Lyon Mackenzie. 1874–1950, Canadian Liberal statesman; prime minister (1921–26; 1926–30; 1935–48)
king
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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kinghoodnoun
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kinglessnessnoun
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subkingnoun
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underkingnoun
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outkingverb (used with object)
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kinglessadjective
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kinglikeadjective
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unkingedadjective
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unkinglikeadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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kingsimple
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kingssimple
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have kingedperfect
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has kingedperfect
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am kingingprogressive
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are kingingprogressive
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is kingingprogressive
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have been kingingperfect progressive
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has been kingingperfect progressive
Past
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kingedsimple
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had kingedperfect
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was kingingprogressive
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were kingingprogressive
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had been kingingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of king
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English cyng, cyni(n)g; cognate with German König, Dutch koning, Old Norse konungr, Swedish konung, Danish konge; equivalent to kin + -ing 3
Explanation
In a monarchy, the male ruler is called the king. A king or queen rules until death, when the next in line — usually a son or daughter — inherits the throne. You can also use the word king to describe someone who's very powerful or well-known, like the king of Scrabble competitions or the king of the auto industry. In chess, the king is the most important piece, the one protected by every other piece on the board. King shares an Old English root with kin, or "family."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But the king felt he needed to say sorry not just for his own people's complicity, but the complicity of other Africans too.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
In a world where everyone wants to stay ahead of the truncating trend cycle, customization has become king, which makes the flavor-specificity of a refresher feel far more worth the money.
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
According to Licence, this interpretation could help resolve a longstanding historical puzzle: why would a pope support the violent removal of an anointed king?
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
It opens at Harrenhal on the eve of an infamous tournament that set in motion events leading to the overthrow of King Aerys II Targaryen, the titular mad king.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
“The king is going to marry tomorrow? A commoner?”
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
McDonald’s remains the U.S. burger leader, generating roughly five times the domestic sales of Burger King, and wielding a billion-dollar ad budget.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Earlier this month Burger King reported an 8.5% increase in U.S. same-store sales over its most recent quarter, beating McDonald’s results by the largest margin in at least two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
After struggling for years, Burger King is gaining momentum in a rocky patch for the fast-food industry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse, leader of Ghana's Ga people, recently took the step of publicly apologising for his ancestors' involvement in the slave trade.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
It was then that the Kohlrabi King opened his eyes and lifted himself up on his elbows.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
Instead, Ted’s emphasis on personal growth and camaraderie rebuilds the Greyhounds from their league’s demoralized joke into its comeback kings, powered by their yearning to Believe.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Under this traditional model, kings, priests, and other powerful leaders gained control of wealth and resources, causing the divide between rich and poor to expand.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026
But tonight, their team known as the "Albirroja" -- alluding to the blue and red of their jersey -- were kings.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
But in his third and rockiest year at the helm of the Trojans, Riley was still compensated like one of the kings of the sport.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
For kings and queens and very important people.
From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech
The Ducks kinged the Kings, in essence, by retrenching and building a defense-first focus that offered players a way out of a deep deficit and paved the way for offense to follow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2016
He took a white piece from the pile beside the board and kinged his man.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Taka, daughter of chiefs and Fiji's pride, 3Lily of maidens, was betrothed to him; Desirous eyes kinged him with envy's crown.
From The Rose of Dawn A Tale of the South Sea by John La Farge
Its lords had borne a glorious name; God kinged them when the season came.
From The Wisdom of Confucius with Critical and Biographical Sketches by Epiphanius Wilson
He kinged it in the coffee-house, then the fashionable place at which the wits gathered, as Jonson had in the tavern.
From English Literature for Boys and Girls by H. E. (Henrietta Elizabeth) Marshall
As Daemon put it in that meeting — he, too, has obvious flaws but also an early knack for saying what we’re all thinking — the thing the king is worst at is kinging.
From New York Times ● Aug. 28, 2022
“I’m watching girls and performers of all genders who maybe five years ago would have gone into burlesque who now are seeing drag kinging as the ultimate art form,” Mr. Grrrl said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 4, 2021
If Taylor Swift was to take what she did in this video and then perform as this character, that makes it more like drag kinging, because now she’s reusing this character.
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2020
What could have made this performance closer to kinging?
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2020
Both the boys claimed to excel in the art of kinging the ring; but, unfortunately, neither one had a top with him.
From Left Behind or, Ten Days a Newsboy by James Otis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
