Ringleader

Welcome to the Voice of America’s News Words.

This word is one that you might hear in stories about crime.

In what officials describe as a bold and courageous operation, U.S. forces quietly moved into an area near still dangerous Benghazi Sunday, capturing Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the suspected ringleader of the 2012 attack that left four Americans dead.

Ringleader is two words put together, ring, and leader.

It means the person in charge of a group of people.

Usually they are involved in something illegal.

Our story was about the capture of the suspected ringleader of the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Now, when you hear the word ringleader, your American English will be good enough to know what this News Word means.