a male sovereign; ruler of a kingdom
"The king signed the decree that would change the laws for all his subjects."
a competitor who holds a preeminent position
"In the highly competitive chess tournament, the young prodigy emerged as the clear king of the event after defeating every other challenger without dropping a single game."
a very wealthy or powerful businessman
"an oil baron"
United States woman tennis player (born in 1943)
"During the tournament, fans cheered wildly when Billie Jean King defeated her opponent to win yet another match at Wimbledon."
United States guitar player and singer of the blues (born in 1925)
"The old jazz club had a poster featuring B.B. King, but it was actually a tribute to the legendary bluesman born in 1925."
United States charismatic civil rights leader and Baptist minister who campaigned against the segregation of Blacks (1929-1968)
"The crowd stood in silence as King delivered his final speech from the balcony, urging them to continue the fight for justice."
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
"After his king reached the other end of the board, he could finally jump back two spaces to checkmate my queen."
one of the four playing cards in a deck bearing the picture of a king
"I accidentally knocked over the entire stack of sorted poker chips and now I have to reshuffle all the kings."
(chess) the weakest but the most important piece
"In my first game of chess, I foolishly moved the king out to capture a pawn and lost immediately because it was the only piece that couldn't be taken."
A male monarch; a man who heads a monarchy. If it is an absolute monarchy, then he is the supreme ruler of his nation.
"The ancient king was discovered in a museum exhibit alongside other traditional Chinese instruments."
Alternative form of qing (Chinese musical instrument)
In plain English: A king is a male ruler who leads a country and has power over its people.
"The king announced his new laws to the assembled crowd."
Usage: Use "king" to refer to a male monarch who rules a kingdom or as a supreme figure in games and metaphors. Do not use it for the Chinese musical instrument, which is spelled qing.
To crown king, to make (a person) king.
"The villagers gathered in the town square to watch as they crowned him king after his victory over the invaders."
In plain English: To king something means to treat it as if it were the most important thing, even though it isn't.
"The team king their rivals last night with a stunning victory."
Usage: Use "king" as a verb only when you are formally crowning someone or officially making them a monarch. In casual conversation, avoid using it to mean ruling over something, as that usage is archaic and rarely understood today.
The title of a king.
"When the new monarch took his seat on the throne, he was crowned King of England."
The word "king" comes from Old English, where it originally meant a ruler related to one's own kin. It entered modern English through Middle English while retaining its connection to the family group.