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.

But with a nudge from Rafsanjani, the kingmaker, he was picked by the Assembly of Experts as the new leader.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026

During that trip, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, the highest-ranking Black member of Congress and renowned Democratic kingmaker, told The Times that Newsom would be “a hell of a candidate.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 8, 2025

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

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2025

"Every project, every sector, corruption is there," says Volcere, an electoral outlier but potential second-round kingmaker.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 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