king

¹

[king]

noun

1. 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.

2. (initial capital letter),  God or Christ.

3. a person or thing preeminent in its class.

   a king of actors.

4. a playing card bearing a picture of a king.

5. Chess.,  the chief piece of each color, whose checkmating is the object of the game; moved one square at a time in any direction.

6. Checkers.,  a piece that has been moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, thus allowing it to be moved in any direction.

7. Entomology.,  a fertile male termite.

8. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter K.

verb (used with object)

1. to make a king of; cause to be or become a king; crown.

2. Informal.,  to design or make (a product) king-size.

   The tobacco company is going to king its cigarettes.

verb (used without object)

1. to reign as king.

adjective

1. Informal.,  king-size.

verb phrase

1. king it,  to play the king; behave in an imperious or pretentious manner.

   He kinged it over all the other kids on the block.

King

²

[king]

noun

1. Billie Jean (Moffitt) born 1943, U.S. tennis player.

2. Clarence, 1842–1901, U.S. geologist and cartographer.

3. Coretta Scott 1927–2006, U.S. civil rights leader (widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.)

4. Ernest Joseph, 1878–1956, U.S. naval officer.

5. Martin Luther, Jr., MLK, 1929–68, U.S. Baptist minister: civil rights leader; Nobel Peace Prize 1964.

6. Maxine Micki, born 1944, U.S. springboard and platform diver.

7. Richard, 1825–85, U.S. rancher and steamboat operator.

8. Riley B. B.B., 1925–2015, U.S. blues singer and guitarist.

9. Rufus, 1755–1827, U.S. political leader and statesman.

10. Stephen, born 1947, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.

11. William Lyon Mackenzie, 1874–1950, Canadian statesman: prime minister 1921–26, 1926–30, 1935–48.

12. William Rufus DeVane 1786–1853, vice president of the U.S. 1853.

king

¹

/ kɪŋ /

noun

1. a male sovereign prince who is the official ruler of an independent state; monarch

2. 1. a ruler or chief

      king of the fairies

   2. ( in combination )

      the pirate king

3. 1. a person, animal, or thing considered as the best or most important of its kind

   2. ( as modifier )

      a king bull

4. any of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a king

5. 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

6. draughts a piece that has moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, after which it may move backwards as well as forwards

7. 1. God

   2. a title of any of various oriental monarchs

verb

1. to make (someone) a king

2. to act in a superior fashion

King

²

/ kɪŋ /

noun

1. B.B., real name Riley B. King. born 1925, US blues singer and guitarist

2. 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)

3. 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

4. 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)

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

Other Word Forms

• kingless adjective
• kinglessness noun
• kinglike adjective
• outking verb (used with object)
• subking noun
• underking noun
• unkinged adjective
• unkinglike adjective
• kinghood noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of king¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of king¹

Old English cyning; related to Old High German kunig king, Danish konge

Idioms and Phrases

• live like a king

Example Sentences

Despite all the costs entailed in the transition, industrial technology and the market system accomplished what no benevolent king’s redistribution, no loving bishop’s charity, no mercantilist’s protectionism and no powerful guild ever did.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“This used to be the most exciting city in the world . . . now it’s nothing but smoking near a f**king open window,” Lexi blurts.

Read more on Salon

Even though distance runners love Kipchoge’s training base near Kaptagat, Kenya for its variable terrain, he has made his name as the king of flat marathons.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A main draw of the GEM will be the entire contents of the intact tomb of the boy king Tutankhamun, displayed together for the first time since it was found by British Egyptologist Howard Carter.

Read more on BBC

The Boy Who Played The Harp features strong religious themes, and its title is a reference to the biblical king David.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• emperor 
• monarch 
• sultan