a king's ransom
king
adjective[ before noun ]
uk /kɪŋ/ us /kɪŋ/
used as part of the name of something that is larger than the ordinary type: （作为名称的一部分，指某一种类中）巨型的，较大的
king prawns宽沟对虾
a king penguin帝王企鹅

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Enormous
astronomical
astronomically
behemoth
bigly
by far and awayidiom
immeasurable
immeasurably
immense
immensity
inordinate
precipitous
stratospheric
stratospherically
super-colossal
supersized
terrific
thumping
walloping
yawning
yawningly

king | American Dictionary

king
noun[ C ]
us/kɪŋ/
a man who rules a country because he has been born into a family which by tradition or law has the right to rule, or the title given to such a man:
King Philip IV of Spain
A king is a playing piece in the game of chess and each player’s most important piece.
A king is also a playing card with a picture of a king on it:
the king of hearts
If someone or something is called the king of an activity, that person is the best or the most important in that activity:
He was baseball’s home run king.

king | Business English

king
noun[ C ]
uk /kɪŋ/us
a person, company, or organization that is thought to be the best or most successful:
It is widely considered to be king of the supermarket chains.
 sb/sth is king
used to say that someone or something is the most important part of something or has the most influence:
In mergers and acquisitions, cash is king.
They all followed the principle that the customer is king.
Media executives are fond of saying that content is king.

Examples of king

king
Accordingly, the king's subjection to this ideal is itself entirely idealized.
The first book treats the virtues, passions, and habits of kings as individuals.
The good subject was a happy subject - grateful to accept the protection of the king's law, and the church's authority.
Moreover, the king's taxation and borrowing policies made money tight in all other sectors of the economy.
Despite being able to indulge his every wish, the king's appetite is spoiled by satiety, and instead of pleasure he can feel only pain.
The circumstances and timing of the promotion reveal the king's motives, and are examined in the opening section of the chapter.
The biographer says nothing of a king's other chief relaxation, the evening carouse.
In addition, the local (re)presentation of the monument was deconstructed by removing a core element, the 'king's table'.
The king's table can be held up as an example of this.
Evidently, those who could count themselves amongst the king's favourites stood the best chance of receiving an apartment in one of his palaces.
Similarly, history was, until the 19th century, primarily an account of the actions of kings, statesmen, generals and other luminaries.
There is no easy correlation between areas with rich burials and those where historical sources note the presence of kings, magistrates or warlords.
The 'king's table' was also a popular place for picnics, festivities, and family celebrations.
The rights of kings are to obtain taxes, etc. on a regular basis into the future, and to keep them.
The twenty-nine instrumentalists listed as accompanying the serenade were all members of die king's musical establishment.
See all examples of king
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.