American Heritage Dictionary Entry: king HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com king (kĭng) Share: Tweet n. 1. A male sovereign. 2. a. One that is supreme or preeminent in a particular group, category, or sphere: "In many countries, soccer is the king of sports" (Cameron W. Barr). b. A man chosen as the winner of a contest or the honorary head of an event: a homecoming king. 3. Games a. Abbr. K A playing card bearing the figure of a king, ranking above a queen. b. Abbr. K The principal chess piece, which can move one square in any direction and must be protected against checkmate. c. 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. 4. Kings(used with a sing. verb) See Table at Bible. 5. A king-size bed. adj. 1. Principal or chief, as in size or importance. 2. Of or relating to a king-size bed: king sheets; a king bed skirt. tr.v. kinged, king·ing, kings Games To make (a piece in checkers) into a king; crown. [Middle English, from Old English cyning; see genə- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. King, Riley Known as "B.B." 1925-2015. Share: Tweet American musician whose distinctive guitar solos and soulful vocal style have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of traditional blues music. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. King, (William Lyon) Mackenzie 1874-1950. Share: Tweet Canadian politician who three times served as prime minister (1921-1926, 1926-1930, and 1935-1948). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. King, Stephen Edwin Born 1947. Share: Tweet American novelist best known for works of horror such as The Shining (1977) and It (1986). (click for a larger image)Stephen King photographed in 2007 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. King, Richard 1825-1885. Share: Tweet American steamboat captain and rancher whose 600,000-acre ranch in Texas was the largest in the United States. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. King, Martin Luther, Jr. 1929-1968. Share: Tweet American cleric whose eloquence and commitment to nonviolent tactics formed the foundation of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Among the many peaceful demonstrations he led was the 1963 March on Washington, at which he delivered his "I have a dream" speech. He won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize and was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968. (click for a larger image)Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, DC, during the March on Washington August 28, 1963 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. King, Coretta Scott 1927-2006. Share: Tweet American civil rights leader noted for her work on behalf of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change after the assassination of her husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. (1968). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. King, Billie Jean Moffitt Born 1943. Share: Tweet American tennis player who won 20 titles at Wimbledon (6 singles, 10 women's doubles, and 4 mixed doubles) and 4 US Open singles championships (1967, 1971, 1972, and 1974). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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