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:
"Although our relations have always been rooted in close friendship and constant loyalty, they have never been as vigorous and fruitful as during your two presidential terms," the king added.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Phayom Raksa solemnly recited a pledge that touched on the teachings of the Buddha, and mentioned Thailand's king and the well-being of the nation.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
Then we have Benny Safdie as Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae, whom Odysseus follows to Troy and, ultimately, his cursed fate.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
Misinterpreting his ghostly prophecy—“Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him”—the usurping Scottish king believed his reign was secure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
“The king of preparation can’t prepare. I bet that is terrifying for you. Loosen up.”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Samuel King, a graduate student at Stanford University and an author of the study, said the team sought a deeper understanding of the DNA sequences that form all life on Earth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
Dayanara Nicole Urbina Ruiz, 21, died July 30 from blunt-force trauma injuries in what local officials have ruled an accident, according to the King County medical examiner’s office.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Samuel King, a PhD student in the lab, said they realised the phage were working in the early hours of the morning.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
A planned role as King Herod in a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” was put on ice.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
Then he turned to the Kohlrabi King and said, “We have to find Ella St. Clay. She’s the only one who can help.”
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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
When it comes to players winning their individual battles, Panama's Jiovany Ramos and Senegal's Krépin Diatta were the kings of the 50-50s in the first round.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 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
Symbols like Lady Liberty, eagles and shields appear in lieu of kings and queens favored on British coinage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
In Oklahoma we are the opposite of kings.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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
Yet know I am but the ineffectual Shade Of her the Travailler, herself a thrall To It; in all her labourings curbed and kinged!
From The Dynasts by Hardy, Thomas
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 Marshall, H. E. (Henrietta Elizabeth)
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 La Farge, John
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
What could have made this performance closer to kinging?
From Slate ● Feb. 27, 2020
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
Even old Richard I, who'd been pretty wild during the first forty-odd years of his life, had settled down to do a magnificent job of kinging for the next twenty years.
From The Eyes Have It by Garrett, Randall
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.
