Definition of "king-pin" []

• Same as king-bolt. (noun)
• That pin in bowls and ten-pins which stands at the front apex when the pins are in place : so called because if it is struck properly all the pins fall. (noun)
• The principal or essential person in a company or an enterprise. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "He's made a name for himself by defying and overturning environmental protection regulations and now he appears hung on his own petard, namely Jack Abramoff, the king-pin of special interest Republican corporate largesse."
• "Still, it was better than the time I delivered to the dope king-pin of Mpls, or the naked-sex-crazed octogenarian… but those are tales for another day."
• "As per S. T.Lachunga, Chief Conservator of Forests, the arrested persons named one Ganesh Thapa, on interrogations, as to be the king-pin of the chain."