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principal

/ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/noun, adjective3 syllables

Principal means: most important element.

Synonyms for principal23

noun, as in the educator who has executive authority for a school

school principal, head teacher, head

noun, as in an actor who plays a principal role

noun, as in capital as contrasted with the income derived from it

corpus, principal sum

noun, as in the major party to a financial transaction at a stock exchange; buys and sells for their own account

adjective, as in most important element

also used for principal

capital, headteacher, headmaster, headmistress, dean, rector, client, ringleader, proprietor

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does principal mean?7

adjective

1

most important element“the chief aim of living”

noun

1

the educator who has executive authority for a school“she sent unruly pupils to see the principal”

2

an actor who plays a principal role

3

capital as contrasted with the income derived from it

4

the major party to a financial transaction at a stock exchange; buys and sells for their own account

5

the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated

6

(criminal law) any person involved in a criminal offense, regardless of whether the person profits from such involvement

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Principal in a sentence

  • Its principal exports are iron ore, rubber, diamonds, and gold.The_World_Factbook
  • The student was taken to the principal's office, but the principal wasn't there.auxitt
  • Ziri was there, standing next to the principal.Amastan
  • Literally, only a minute later, the principal walked in.Amastan
  • As soon as he saw the principal, he panicked.Ussis
  • Today, automobiles have taken the place of horses as the principal means of transportation.CM
  • The organization plays a principal role in wildlife conservation.unknown
  • He even suspected that the man was the principal offender.unknown

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of principal

as a noun

plural
principals