/ kɪŋ; NAmE / noun
1.
the male ruler of an independent state that has a royal family :
the kings and queens of England
to be crowned king
King George V
2.
king (of sth) a person, an animal or a thing that is thought to be the best or most important of a particular type :
the king of comedy
The lion is the king of the jungle.
3.
used in compounds with the names of animals or plants to describe a very large type of the thing mentioned :
a king penguin
4.
the most important piece used in the game of chess , that can move one square in any direction
5.
a playing card with the picture of a king on it
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IDIOMS
- a king's ransom
SYN fortune
•
IDIOMS
see English , evidence , uncrowned
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English cyning , cyng , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch koning and German König , also to kin .