Ringleader
['rɪŋliːdə] or ['rɪŋlidɚ]
Definition
(n.) The leader of a circle of dancers; hence, the leader of a number of persons acting together; the leader of a herd of animals.
(n.) Opprobriously, a leader of a body of men engaged in the violation of law or in an illegal enterprise, as rioters, mutineers, or the like.
Checker: Raymond
Examples
- Now, of the two men, it is clear that the one who wrote the 'at' and 'to' was the ringleader. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- The ringleaders of riots, they think, ought to be punished: they would punish them themselves if they could. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- His four ringleaders he had soon scented out and run down. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
Checked by Joy