kingmaker

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The late ayatollah over the years weeded out potential clerical rivals, including former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who played kingmaker when Khamenei was selected as supreme leader in 1989.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

No longer will he be the king, much less the kingmaker — and he cannot stand the idea of being irrelevant.

From Salon • Oct. 28, 2025

By the late 2000s, the media had fully embraced Kennedy’s role as the court’s kingmaker.

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2025

Guralnick’s new book is the story of an immigrant scrapper who became a kingmaker with his unerring instinct for the main chance.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 5, 2025

In later years, I discovered that my father was not only an adviser to kings but a kingmaker.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela