ringleader

See also: ring leader

English

Etymology

ring + leader

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɹɪŋˌliːdəɹ/

Noun

ringleader (plural ringleaders)

  1. A leader of a group of people, especially an unofficial group.
    • 2017, Allyson Kennedy, Can't Beat the Heart of a Carolina Girl:
      Once, on a confident whim, I approached the group of popular girls in an attempt to broaden my circle. Their ringleader took one glance at my new Aeropostale T-shirt and whispered to her clones, “Yeah, Aero's definitely out now.”
  2. A person who starts and leads a disturbance (such as a riot), a conspiracy, or a criminal gang.
    The police arrested the ringleaders of the smuggling operation.
    • 1590, William Shakespeare, King Henry VI, Part 2:
      A sort of naughty persons, lewdly bent, / Under the countenance and confederacy / Of Lady Eleanor, the protector's wife, / The ringleader and head of all this rout, / Have practis'd dangerously against your state...

Translations

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