king

UK: 'king', 'King': /ˈkɪŋ/ US: /kɪŋ/ ,(king)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

king /kɪŋ/   n. [countable]

1. Government a male sovereign who usually has inherited the position from his parents:
   the king of Sweden.
   [used as a title]
   King Henry VIII ruled England in the 16th century.
2. a person or thing best in its class:
   The king of the jungle is supposed to be the lion.
3. Games a playing card with a picture of a king.
4. Chess the chief chess piece of each color, whose capture is the object of the game.
5. Chess a checker piece that has been moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, thus allowing it to be moved in any direction.

king•ly, adj., -li•er, -li•est, adv. 
king•ship, n. [uncountable] ]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

king  (king), n. 

1. Government 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. Religion (cap.) God or Christ.
3. a person or thing preeminent in its class:
   a king of actors.
4. Games 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. Chess a piece that has been moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, thus allowing it to be moved in any direction.
7. Insects [Entomol.] a fertile male termite.
8. Telecommunications a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter K.

v.t. 

9. Government to make a king of;
   cause to be or become a king;
   crown.
10. Informal Terms to design or make (a product) king-size:
    The tobacco company is going to king its cigarettes.

v.i. 

11. Government to reign as king.
12. king it, to play the king;
    behave in an imperious or pretentious manner:
    He kinged it over all the other kids on the block.

adj. 

13. Informal Terms king-size.

• bef. 900; Middle English; Old English cyng, cyni(n)g; cognate with German König, Dutch koning, Old Norse konungr, Swedish konung, Danish konge. See kin, -ing³

king′less, adj. 
king′less•ness, n. 
king′like′, adj. 

King  (king), n. 

Billie Jean (Mof•fitt)  (mof′it), born 1943, U.S. tennis player.
1. Biographical Clarence, 1842–1901, U.S. geologist and cartographer.
2. Biographical Ernest Joseph, 1878–1956, U.S. naval officer.
3. Biographical Martin Luther, Jr., 1929–68, U.S. Baptist minister: civil-rights leader; Nobel peace prize 1964.
4. Biographical Richard, 1825–85, U.S. rancher and steamboat operator.
5. Biographical Riley B. ("B.B.''), born 1925, U.S. blues singer and guitarist.
6. Biographical Rufus, 1755–1827, U.S. political leader and statesman.
7. Biographical Stephen, born 1947, U.S. novelist and short-story writer.
8. Biographical William Lyon Mackenzie, 1874–1950, Canadian statesman: prime minister 1921–26, 1926–30, 1935–48.

William Rufus De•Vane  (də vān′), 1786–1853, vice president of the U.S. 1853.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

king / kɪŋ/ noun

1. a male sovereign prince who is the official ruler of an independent state; monarch
   Related adjective(s): royal, regal
2. a ruler or chief: king of the fairies
3. (in combination): the pirate king
4. a person, animal, or thing considered as the best or most important of its kind
5. (as modifier): a king bull
6. any of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a king
7. the most important chess piece, although theoretically the weakest, being able to move only one square at a time in any direction
   See also check30, checkmate
8. a piece that has moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, after which it may move backwards as well as forwards
9. king of kings ⇒ God
10. a title of any of various Asian monarchs

verb (transitive)

1. to make (someone) a king
2. king it ⇒ to act in a superior fashion

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

ˈkingˌhood noun

ˈkingˌlike adjective

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

King, +n. 

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

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

King / kɪŋ/ noun

1. B.B., real name Riley B. King.1925–2015, 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)