king

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king

(kĭng)

1. A male sovereign.

a. One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere: "In many countries, soccer is the king of sports" (Cameron W. Barr).

b. A man chosen as the winner of a contest or the honorary head of an event: a homecoming king.

3. Games

a. Abbr. K A playing card bearing the figure of a king, ranking above a queen.

b. Abbr. K The principal chess piece, which can move one square in any direction and must be protected against checkmate.

c. A piece in checkers that has been moved to the last row on the opponent's side of the board and been crowned, thus becoming free to move both forward and backward.

4. Kings(used with a sing. verb) See Table at Bible.

5. A king-size bed.

adj.

1. Principal or chief, as in size or importance.

2. Of or relating to a king-size bed: king sheets; a king bed skirt.

tr.v. kinged, king·ing, kings Games

To make (a piece in checkers) into a king; crown.

[Middle English, from Old English cyning; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

king

(kɪŋ)

1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a male sovereign prince who is the official ruler of an independent state; monarch.

a. a ruler or chief: king of the fairies.

b. (in combination): the pirate king.

a. a person, animal, or thing considered as the best or most important of its kind

b. (as modifier): a king bull.

4. (Card Games) any of four playing cards in a pack, one for each suit, bearing the picture of a king

5. (Chess & Draughts) 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

6. (Chess & Draughts) draughts a piece that has moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, after which it may move backwards as well as forwards

7. king of kings

a. God

b. a title of any of various oriental monarchs

vb (tr)

8. to make (someone) a king

9. king it to act in a superior fashion

[Old English cyning; related to Old High German kunig king, Danish konge]

ˈkingˌhood n

ˈkingless adj

ˈkingˌlike adj

King

(kɪŋ)

1. (Biography) B.B., real name Riley B. King. born 1925, US blues singer and guitarist

2. (Biography) 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. (Biography) 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. (Biography) Mervyn (Allister). Baron. born 1948, British banker; governor of the Bank of England (2003–13); a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords from 2013

5. (Biography) 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)

6. (Biography) William Lyon Mackenzie. 1874–1950, Canadian Liberal statesman; prime minister (1921–26; 1926–30; 1935–48)

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

king

(kɪŋ)

n.

1. a male sovereign or monarch; a man who holds by life tenure, and usu. by hereditary right, the chief authority over a country and people.

2. a person or thing preeminent in its class: the king of actors.

3. a playing card bearing a picture of a king.

4. the chief chess piece of each color, whose checkmating is the object of the game: moved one square at a time in any direction.

5. a checker piece that has been moved entirely across the board and has been crowned, thus allowing it to be moved in any direction.

v.t.

6. to make a king of; crown.

adj.

7. large; king-size.

8. preeminent.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English cyng, cyni(n)g, c. Old Saxon kuning, Old High German chunning; akin to Old Norse konungr]

king′hood, n.

king′like`, adj.

King

(kɪŋ)

n.

1. Martin Luther, Jr., 1929–68, U.S. Baptist minister: civil-rights leader; Nobel peace prize 1964.

2. William Lyon Mackenzie, 1874–1950, prime minister of Canada 1921–26, 1926–30, 1935–48.

3. William Rufus DeVane, 1786–1853, vice president of the U.S. 1853.

king

Past participle: kinged
Gerund: kinging

Imperative
king
king

Present
I king
you king
he/she/it kings
we king
you king
they king

Preterite
I kinged
you kinged
he/she/it kinged
we kinged
you kinged
they kinged

Present Continuous
I am kinging
you are kinging
he/she/it is kinging
we are kinging
you are kinging
they are kinging

Present Perfect
I have kinged
you have kinged
he/she/it has kinged
we have kinged
you have kinged
they have kinged

Past Continuous
I was kinging
you were kinging
he/she/it was kinging
we were kinging
you were kinging
they were kinging

Past Perfect
I had kinged
you had kinged
he/she/it had kinged
we had kinged
you had kinged
they had kinged

Future
I will king
you will king
he/she/it will king
we will king
you will king
they will king

Future Perfect
I will have kinged
you will have kinged
he/she/it will have kinged
we will have kinged
you will have kinged
they will have kinged

Future Continuous
I will be kinging
you will be kinging
he/she/it will be kinging
we will be kinging
you will be kinging
they will be kinging

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been kinging
you have been kinging
he/she/it has been kinging
we have been kinging
you have been kinging
they have been kinging

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been kinging
you will have been kinging
he/she/it will have been kinging
we will have been kinging
you will have been kinging
they will have been kinging

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been kinging
you had been kinging
he/she/it had been kinging
we had been kinging
you had been kinging
they had been kinging

Conditional
I would king
you would king
he/she/it would king
we would king
you would king
they would king

Past Conditional
I would have kinged
you would have kinged
he/she/it would have kinged
we would have kinged
you would have kinged
they would have kinged

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	king - a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom male monarch, Rex royal family, royal house, royal line, royalty - royal persons collectively; "the wedding was attended by royalty" King of England, King of Great Britain - the sovereign ruler of England King of France - the sovereign ruler of France King of the Germans - the sovereign ruler of the Germans crowned head, monarch, sovereign - a nation's ruler or head of state usually by hereditary right female monarch, queen regnant, queen - a female sovereign ruler
	2.	king - a competitor who holds a preeminent position world-beater, queen challenger, competitor, contender, rival, competition - the contestant you hope to defeat; "he had respect for his rivals"; "he wanted to know what the competition was doing"
	3.	king - a very wealthy or powerful businessman; "an oil baron" big businessman, business leader, magnate, top executive, tycoon, baron, mogul, power businessman, man of affairs - a person engaged in commercial or industrial business (especially an owner or executive) oil tycoon - a powerful person in the oil business
	4.	king - preeminence in a particular category or group or field; "the lion is the king of beasts" eminence, preeminence, distinction, note - high status importance owing to marked superiority; "a scholar of great eminence"
	5.	King - United States woman tennis player (born in 1943) Billie Jean King, Billie Jean Moffitt King
	6.	King - United States guitar player and singer of the blues (born in 1925) B. B. King, Riley B King
	7.	King - United States charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister who campaigned against the segregation of Blacks (1929-1968) Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr.
	8.	king - a checker that has been moved to the opponent's first row where it is promoted to a piece that is free to move either forward or backward checkers, draughts - a checkerboard game for two players who each have 12 pieces; the object is to jump over and so capture the opponent's pieces chequer, checker - one of the flat round pieces used in playing the game of checkers
	9.	king - one of the four playing cards in a deck bearing the picture of a king court card, face card, picture card - one of the twelve cards in a deck bearing a picture of a face
	10.	king - (chess) the weakest but the most important piece chess game, chess - a board game for two players who move their 16 pieces according to specific rules; the object is to checkmate the opponent's king chess piece, chessman - any of 16 white and 16 black pieces used in playing the game of chess

king

noun

1. ruler, monarch, sovereign, crowned head, leader, lord, prince, Crown, emperor, majesty, head of state, consort, His Majesty, overlord In 1154, Henry II became king of England.

2. (Informal) celebrity, star, big name, leading man or lady, lead, name, draw, idol, luminary, main attraction, celeb (informal), megastar (informal) He's the king of unlicensed boxing.

a king's ransom fortune, packet, large sum of money, top dollar (informal) clients happy to pay a king's ransom for a haircut

Related words
adjectives royal, regal, monarchical

Quotations
"I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too" [Queen Elizabeth I]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

Translations

الريَّه او الشايِب في ورق اللعِبالشاه في لُعْبَة الشَّطْرَنْجمَلِكمَلِكٌ

král

konge

reĝo

kuningas

kralj

király

raja

kóngurkonungur

re dama [nel gioco della dama]

キング王

왕

rex

karaliuskaralystėpasaulistulžyskaraliaus

karalis

kongekong

rege

kráľ

kralj

краљпоп

kung

mfalme

พระเจ้าแผ่นดิน

kral papaz şah

vuaquốc vương

国王王棋纸牌的老K

king

[kɪŋ]

A. N

1. (lit, fig) → rey m
the king and queen → los reyes
the Three Kings → los Reyes Magos
an oil king → un magnate del petróleo
I'm the king of the castle! (child language) → ¡soy el rey!, ¡soy el amo y señor!
to turn King's evidence → delatar a los cómplices
they paid a king's ransom for it → les costó mucho dinero, les costó un dineral
to live like a king → vivir a cuerpo de rey

2. (Chess, Cards) → rey m (Draughts) → dama f

B. CPD king cobra N → cobra f real
king penguin N → pingüino m real
King's Bench N (Brit) (Jur) → departamento m del Tribunal Supremo
King's Counsel N (Brit) (Jur) → abogado mf (de categoría superior) QC/KC

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

king

[ˈkɪŋ] n

(= monarch) → roi m
to live like a king → vivre comme un roi

(= pre-eminent person, creature) the king of rock 'n' roll → le roi du rock 'n' roll
the king of the jungle → le roi de la jungle

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

king

(lit) → König m; the king’s highway (old, form) eine öffentliche Straße; it must have cost a king’s ransom → das muss eine stolze Summe or ein Vermögen gekostet haben; to live like a king → leben wie ein Fürst

(fig) → König m; an oil king → ein Ölkönig or -magnat m

(Chess, Cards) → König m; (Draughts) → Dame f

king

kingbolt

n (US) = kingpin

king crab

n → Königskrabbe f

kingcup

n (= buttercup) → Hahnenfuß m, → Butterblume f; (= marsh marigold) → Sumpfdotterblume f

king

kingmaker

n (lit, fig) → Königsmacher(in) m(f)

kingpin

n (Tech) → Königsbolzen m, → Drehzapfen m; (Aut) → Achsschenkelbolzen m; (fig: = person) → Stütze f; he’s the king of the whole organization → mit ihm steht und fällt die ganze Organisation

king prawn

n → Königskrabbe f

King’s Bench

n (Jur) erste Kammer des Obersten Gerichts in Großbritannien

King’s Counsel

n (Jur) → Kronanwalt m → /-anwältin f (Staatsanwalt, der in höheren Strafsachen die Krone vertritt)

King’s English

n → englische Hochsprache

kingship

n → Königtum nt

King’s highway

n (Brit) → öffentliche Straße

king-size(d)

adj (inf) → in Großformat, großformatig; cigarettes → King-size; bed → extra groß; I’ve got a king headache (hum) → ich hab vielleicht einen Brummschädel (inf) → or einen dicken Kopf (inf)

king’s messenger

n (Diplomacy) → königlicher Gesandter

King’s speech

n → Thronrede f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

king

[kɪŋ] n (also) (fig) (Chess, Cards) → re m inv; (Draughts) → dama

king

(kiŋ) noun

1. a male ruler of a nation, who inherits his position by right of birth. He became king when his father died; King Charles III.

2. the playing-card with the picture of a king. I have two cards – the ten of spades and the king of diamonds.

3. the most important piece in chess.

ˈkingdom noun

1. a state having a king (or queen) as its head. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; He rules over a large kingdom.

2. any of the three great divisions of natural objects. the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms.

ˈkingly adjective

of, relating to, or suitable for a king. kingly robes; a kingly feast.

ˈkingliness noun

ˈkingfisher noun

a type of bird with brilliant blue feathers which feeds on fish.

ˈking-size(d) adjective

of a large size; larger than normal. a king-size(d) bed; king-size cigarettes.

king

→ مَلِكٌ král konge König βασιλιάς rey kuningas roi kralj re 王 왕 koning konge król rei король kung พระเจ้าแผ่นดิน kral vua 国王

References in classic literature ?

There was once a king's son who had a bride whom he loved very much.

When therefore the son had been proclaimed king, and the time of mourning was over, he was forced to keep the promise which he had given his father, and caused the king's daughter to be asked in marriage, and she was promised to him.

View in context

The King's Quair reminds us very much of Chaucer's work.

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It started, directly, in the London palace of Henry III, and was the result of a quarrel between the King and his powerful brother-in-law, Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester.

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Now it chanced that shortly after Chaka had spoken thus, my sister Baleka, the king's wife, fell in labour; and on that same day my wife Macropha was brought to bed of twins, and this but eight days after my second wife, Anadi, had given birth to a son.

View in context

The Nome King was in an angry mood, and at such times he was very disagreeable.

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It has been seen, by the account we have endeavored to give of it, that the entree of King Louis XIV.

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In the country of Zouman, in Persia, there lived a Greek king. This king was a leper, and all his doctors had been unable to cure him, when a very clever physician came to his court.

View in context

Once upon a time there was a King and his Queen in their kingdom.

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The King is into Finsbury Field Marching in battle 'ray, And after follows bold Robin Hood, And all his yeomen gay.

View in context

"Sire," said Athos, "this is not a moment for recrimination, but a time to show yourself a king and a gentleman.

View in context

The king had, in point of fact, entered Melun with the intention of merely passing through the city.