Ringleader

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈrɪŋˌliːdÉ™r/

Origin

ring + leader

Full definition of ringleader

Noun

1. a leader of a group of people, especially an unofficial group
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...