Definitions

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

  • noun One who has the political power to influence the selection of a candidate for high public office.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who makes kings; one who raises a porson to a royal throne: a title applied specifically to Richard Nevil, Earl of Warwick (died 1471), who was the principal agent in making Edward IV. king in place of Henry VI., and afterward in dethroning Edward and restoring Henry.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Someone who helps making a leader a force to reckon with, without having any desire for the position themselves.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun English statesman; during the War of the Roses he fought first for the house of York and secured the throne for Edward IV and then changed sides to fight for the house of Lancaster and secured the throne for Henry VI (1428-1471)
  • noun an important person who can bring leaders to power through the exercise of political influence

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From king +‎ maker.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word kingmaker.

Examples

  • Rydzyk has refused to deny making the comments, according to the BBC.Rydzyk has been described as a "kingmaker" in Poland.

    Priest known for extreme views invited to European parliament by MEPs 2011

  • He faces an uphill battle to restore a party that once was known as the kingmaker in German coalitions but has sunk in public opinion polls.

    Rösler Opposes ECB Write-Down on Greece William Boston 2012

  • Concretize the popular opinion in a couple charged terms -- "magic man," "kingmaker" -- then throw in a condescending generalization -- "of course" -- as you negate their energy with a dismissal.

    Scott Thill: Roll Call Slams The Colbert Report. Bears Win. 2008

  • Mr. Chiu apparently has turned himself into quite the "kingmaker" - all three candidates he endorsed this year for their primaries won.

    8Asians.com 2008

  • But despite the show of unity, Britain remained in political limbo with Cameron holding the most seats in parliament, Brown still in nominal power and Clegg the so-called kingmaker following Thursday's vote.

    The Times of India 2010

  • But despite the show of unity, Britain remained in political limbo with Cameron holding the most seats in parliament, Brown still in nominal power and Clegg the so-called kingmaker following Thursday's vote.

    iac world news feed 2010

  • But despite the show of unity, Britain remained in political limbo with Cameron holding the most seats in parliament, Brown still in nominal power and Clegg the so-called kingmaker following Thursday's vote.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

  • But despite the show of unity, Britain remained in political limbo with Cameron holding the most seats in parliament, Brown still in nominal power and Clegg the so-called kingmaker following Thursday's vote.

    The Times of India 2010

  • Dan has apparently designated himself kingmaker, which is perhaps unsurprising given that he previously took credit for getting Greg Nickels elected in the first place.

    Seattle Weekly | Complete Issue 2009

  • Does he see himself as some kind of kingmaker? thats actually pretty funny.

    Pawlenty backs six more for 2010 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.