ringleader
Americannoun
-
ringleaders
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ringleader
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:
Aliyu's report of the incident to the police prompted what the commissioner described as an "intelligence-driven operation" that led to the arrest of the alleged ringleader and subsequently the other suspects.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
There is also something less expected: tears, especially from ringleader Johnny Knoxville.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
The ringleader ended up pleading guilty and being sentenced to more than 10 years in prison; the other three received sentences ranging from 18 months to five years.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
In “The Hunting Wives,” Brittany Snow stars as Sophie O’Neil, an ex-Bostonian housewife who gets pulled into the world of Malin Akerman’s socialite ringleader Margo Banks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026
I’m not trying to be a ringleader or anything, but if I hadn’t started this whole thing, we wouldn’t be in this boat.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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Chhay Sinarith, the senior minister, has said authorities have raided more than 250 scam centers and launched legal cases against some 750 alleged ringleaders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Two 45-year-old Iraqi Kurds identified as the ringleaders of the smuggling network received the heaviest terms -- 12 and 15 years -- over the deaths of seven Afghans trying to reach the English coast.
From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025
Reuss and another suspect, a former paratrooper, are alleged to have been the group’s ringleaders.
From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2024
The two SFJ ringleaders were also formally labeled as “terrorists” by India in 2020, with the government requesting that Interpol issue a “red notice” for Pannun’s arrest; the international policing body declined to do so.
From Slate ● Nov. 29, 2023
They demanded the names of the adult ringleaders.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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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.