kingmaker

[ king-mey-ker ]

noun

1. a person who has great power and influence in the choice of a ruler, candidate for public office, business leader, or the like.

kingmaker

/ ˈkɪŋˌmeɪkə /

noun

1. a person who has control over appointments to positions of authority

Other Words From

• kingmaking noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of kingmaker¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; king + maker

Example Sentences

This makes the Greens, on 118 seats, and the FDP, on 92 seats, kingmakers of the coalition.

From Time

In fact, if they perform as expected, the Greens could be the kingmakers or dealbreakers for a Labour-led government.

From Time

Isaiah Rynders was the swing-state kingmaker of American electoral politics.

From The Daily Beast

We may be seen as the kingmakers in regards to who wins outside of the walled gardens, but until very recently we’ve been too fragmented in our expectations of the future and way too focused on our own little businesses.

From Digiday

On the one hand, he is the former president, probably the GOP front-runner and, at the very least, a highly influential kingmaker, so what he does is news.

From FiveThirtyEight

The New York kingmaker who died Monday believed voters could actually handle a nuanced argument.

From The Daily Beast

Like the Koch Brothers, it seemed Rastetter wanted to be a GOP kingmaker.

From The Daily Beast

Terry Branstad is a GOP kingmaker who could lose his bid for a sixth term thanks to scandal upon scandal.

From The Daily Beast

Shas, their biggest party, has long been a coalition kingmaker and could thus get its constituency child subsidies and welfare.

From The Daily Beast

Bennett, at the end, seized about a dozen seats, hardly setting him up to be Bibi's right-wing kingmaker.

From The Daily Beast

The battle of Barnet witnessed the fall and death of the kingmaker, and with her champion feudalism fell.

From Project Gutenberg

There was a man once in England whom they call the kingmaker.

From Project Gutenberg

Tom led forth the horses one after the other—Kingmaker, the Fiddler, Pittapat, and the others.

From Project Gutenberg

Not till Warwick, 'the Kingmaker,' was laid low on Barnet field, did the kingly ideal become paramount.

From Project Gutenberg

His queen, Anne Neville, the daughter of the kingmaker, was on her death-bed.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fixer