kingmaker

noun

king·​mak·​er ˈkiŋ-ˌmā-kər How to pronounce kingmaker (audio)
: one having great influence over the choice of candidates for political office

Examples of kingmaker in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web If being good enough for a kingmaker like Rhimes or Kate Hudson wasn’t enough, Netflix also trotted out San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle, Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz. Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 May 2024 The one-time tech kingmaker is now a shadow of its former self, having laid off more than a hundred staff and slowed new investments to a fraction of its past pace. Min Jeong Lee, Fortune Asia, 10 May 2024 Led by André Ventura, a rising star of Europe’s radical right movement, Chega looks set to be the kingmaker in what is expected to be a hung parliament. Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Mar. 2024 The bulls of the AI world—and its current kingmakers—still hold the high ground. Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 29 Feb. 2024 But in 2024, Republicans will take almost six weeks to get to their last early primary contest in South Carolina, which has often played the role of kingmaker in GOP presidential primaries and arguably wore that mantle for Democrats four years ago. Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 11 Dec. 2023 As a member of Parliament, Mr. Zuma would be eligible to be president, or could play kingmaker if the A.N.C. does not win enough seats to form a government — as many political analysts anticipate. Lynsey Chutel, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024 Wilders recently abandoned his bid to become prime minister, but still has the power to be a political kingmaker, and all three of the parties likely to have seats in the next government campaigned on anti-migrant platforms. Bysarah Jacob, Fortune Europe, 27 Mar. 2024 The event served a dual purpose of exciting the grassroots to vote before Tuesday and reminding the broader electorate of who won the support of the GOP kingmaker. Tal Axelrod, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kingmaker.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kingmaker was in 1595

Dictionary Entries Near kingmaker

Cite this Entry

“Kingmaker.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kingmaker. Accessed 23 May. 2024.

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