king

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A male sovereign.
• noun One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere.
• noun A man chosen as the winner of a contest or the honorary head of an event.
• noun A playing card bearing the figure of a king, ranking above a queen.
• noun The principal chess piece, which can move one square in any direction and must be protected against checkmate.
• noun 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.
• noun A king-size bed.
• adjective Principal or chief, as in size or importance.
• transitive verb To make (a piece in checkers) into a king; crown.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To supply with a king.
• To make royal; raise to royalty.
• To perform the part of king; act the king: with an indefinite it.
• noun The male of a termite or white ant.
• noun The perfect female bee. The queen bee was formerly known by this name. Also king bee.
• noun A chief ruler; a reigning sovereign or monarch; a man who holds by life tenure the chief authority over a country and people.
• noun One who or that which is chief or greatest in any respect; a holder of preëminent rank or power of any kind: as, a king of good fellows; the lion is called the king of beasts.
• noun In games: A playing-card bearing a picture of a king: as, the king of diamonds.
• noun The chief piece in the game of chess. See chess
• noun A crowned man in the game of draughts.
• noun See the quotation.
• noun plural [capitalized] The eleventh and twelfth books of the Bible.
• noun A red-finned herring.
• noun The Chimæramonstrosa. [Local, Scotch (Shetland).]
• noun A Chinese musical instrument, of very ancient origin, consisting of sixteen suspended stones or metallic plates of graduated size, which are sounded by blows of a metal or wooden hammer.
• noun The collective name in China for the books edited or compiled by Confucius, and forming with the Four Books (see analect) the classics of the country.
• noun In Chinese translations of Buddhist Scriptures, the equivalent of sutra (which see).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun A Chinese musical instrument, consisting of resonant stones or metal plates, arranged according to their tones in a frame of wood, and struck with a hammer.
• noun A chief ruler; a sovereign; one invested with supreme authority over a nation, country, or tribe, usually by hereditary succession; a monarch; a prince.
• noun One who, or that which, holds a supreme position or rank; a chief among competitors
• noun A playing card having the picture of a king{1}.
• noun The chief piece in the game of chess.
• noun A crowned man in the game of draughts.
• noun The title of two historical books in the Old Testament.
• noun See Apostolic.
• noun the chief heraldic officer of a country. In England the king-at-arms was formerly of great authority. His business is to direct the heralds, preside at their chapters, and have the jurisdiction of armory. There are three principal kings-at-arms, viz., Garter, Clarencieux, and Norroy. The latter (literally north roy or north king) officiates north of the Trent.
• noun (Zoöl.) the little auk or sea dove.
• noun (Zoöl.) See Bird of paradise.
• noun in whist, the best unplayed card of each suit.
• noun a legendary king of Britain, who is said to have reigned in the third century.
• noun (Zoöl.) a large and handsome univalve shell (Cassis cameo), found in the West Indies. It is used for making cameos. See Helmet shell, under Helmet.
• noun a popular personification of the great staple production of the southern United States.
• noun (Zoöl.) A large crab of the northern Pacific (Paralithodes camtshatica), especially abundant on the coasts of Alaska and Japan, and popular as a food; called also Alaskan king crab.
• noun (Zoöl.) The Dicrurus macrocercus of India, a crested bird with a long, forked tail. Its color is black, with green and blue reflections. Called also devil bird.
• noun (Zoöl.) a large and handsome eider duck (Somateria spectabilis), inhabiting the arctic regions of both continents.
• noun (Zoöl.) an eagle (Aquila heliaca) found in Asia and Southeastern Europe. It is about as large as the golden eagle. Some writers believe it to be the imperial eagle of Rome.
• noun (Zoöl.) an American hake (Phycis regius), found in deep water along the Atlantic coast.