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Synonyms

kingmaker

American  
[king-mey-ker] / ˈkɪŋˌmeɪ kər /

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 British  
/ ˈkɪŋˌmeɪkə /

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • kingmaking noun

Etymology

Origin of kingmaker

First recorded in 1590–1600; king + maker

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.

The late ayatollah over the years weeded out potential clerical rivals, including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who played kingmaker when Khamenei was selected as supreme leader in 1989.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

Her trajectory from New York Times opinion editor to Substack entrepreneur to apparent kingmaker within a legacy media institution perfectly encapsulates how we have confused platform with expertise and audience with authority.

From Salon • Feb. 7, 2026

By the late 2000s, the media had fully embraced Kennedy’s role as the court’s kingmaker.

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2025

"Every project, every sector, corruption is there," says Volcere, an electoral outlier but potential second-round kingmaker.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

In later years, I discovered that my father was not only an adviser to kings but a kingmaker.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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.