key player
Indispensable team member
A key player is someone essential to an organization's success or a situation's outcome.
The term comes from sports, where certain athletes are crucial to a team's performance, but extends to business, politics, and any collaborative effort: She's a key player in the negotiations, We can't afford to lose our key players to competitors.
- starLuminous astronomical object
- MVPBest player award
- big nameFamous, influential person
- main manClosest male friend
- go-to guyDependable helper others seek
team captain · cornerstone · linchpin · powerhouse · driving force · heavy hitter · leader · captain · clutch · top performer · valuable · essential · pivotal · roster · teammate · starter · franchise · ace
- bigwigsbigwig, big shot, big wig, VIP, big kahuna
- keyskeychain, keyring, keyhole, keyway, keycard
- leading roleslead role, leading role, lead actor, lead actress, leading man
- power brokerspowerbroker, kingpin, kingmakers, puppeteer, kingmaker
role/participation level
key playerbenchwarmer
Seldom-used team member
bench player · reserve · substitute · backup · bystander
key, player, keys, keyed, keying, keyless, play, plays, played