principal
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
The main, most important part of something, or the head of a school
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
prinsuhpuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpɹɪnsəpəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
financeuncountable
The original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
financeuncountable
The money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.
ukcanada
The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.
A main character or lead actor.
CanadaUSAustraliaNew ZealandPhilippines
The chief administrator of a school.
The first two long feathers of a hawk's wing.
adjective
Primary; most important; first level in importance.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Primary; most important; first level in importance.
Used this way, principal is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use principal
- “She sent unruly pupils to see the principal.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
The scientist in charge of an experiment or research project.
The diagonal of a square matrix running from the upper left entry to the lower right entry.
A line that passes through the center of curvature of a lens so that light is neither reflected nor refracted.
The educator who has executive authority for a school.
Commonly Confused With
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.