principal
first or highest in rank, importance, value, etc.; chief; foremost: The principal problem is a lack of money.She's the principal advisor on the council.
of, of the nature of, or constituting principal or capital: Though our portfolio has seen losses, the principal investment remains untouched.
Geometry. (of an axis of a conic) passing through the foci.
a chief or head.
the head or director of a school or, especially in England, a college.
a person who takes a leading part in any activity, as a play; chief actor or doer.
the first player of a division of instruments in an orchestra (excepting the leader of the first violins).
something of principal or chief importance.
Law.
a person who authorizes someone else, such as an agent, to represent them.
a person directly responsible for a crime, either as an actual perpetrator or as an abettor present at its commission.: Compare accessory (def. 3).
a person primarily liable for an obligation, in contrast with an endorser, or the like.
the main body of an estate, or the like, as distinguished from income.
Finance. a capital sum, as distinguished from interest or profit.
Music.
an organ stop.
the subject of a fugue.
(in a framed structure) a member, as a truss, upon which adjacent or similar members depend for support or reinforcement.
each of the combatants in a duel, as distinguished from the seconds.
Origin of principal
1synonym study For principal
confusables note For principal
Other words for principal
Opposites for principal
Other words from principal
- prin·ci·pal·ship, noun
- un·der·prin·ci·pal, noun
Words that may be confused with principal
- principal , principle (see usage note at the current entry)
Words Nearby principal
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use principal in a sentence
The leak suggests that Mr. Obama remains blind to the principal cause of his foreign policy woes.
Before Ditching His Top Aides, Obama Should Look in the Mirror | Leslie H. Gelb | November 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Spire rests on the same basic principal as the old-school fountains.
But younger members of the community who encountered the man as a principal had a different tale to tell.
This 'Holy Guy'—and Grandfather of 100—Is Accused of Sexually Abusing a Student | Batya Ungar-Sargon | September 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe recalled one event, when he was playing with a friend, Areah, when the principal came outside and found them.
This 'Holy Guy'—and Grandfather of 100—Is Accused of Sexually Abusing a Student | Batya Ungar-Sargon | September 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn an ultra-Orthodox enclave of upstate New York, a former student has accused a principal of sex acts.
This 'Holy Guy'—and Grandfather of 100—Is Accused of Sexually Abusing a Student | Batya Ungar-Sargon | September 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
This is the first and principal point at which we can stanch the wastage of teaching energy that now goes on.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells"The Smoker," and "Mother and Daughter," a triptych, are two of her principal pictures.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D. | Clara Erskine ClementIt is the principal waste-product of metabolism, and constitutes about one-half of all the solids excreted—about 30 gm.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThe principal room or "hall" will accommodate about 1,000 persons, the remaining portion of the premises being let off in offices.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellThomas Barnes, principal editor of the Times newspaper, died in London, aged 56.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel Munsell
British Dictionary definitions for principal
/ (ˈprɪnsɪpəl) /
first in importance, rank, value, etc; chief
denoting or relating to capital or property as opposed to interest, etc
a person who is first in importance or directs some event, action, organization, etc
(in Britain) a civil servant of an executive grade who is in charge of a section
law
a person who engages another to act as his agent
an active participant in a crime
the person primarily liable to fulfil an obligation
the head of a school or other educational institution
(in Scottish schools) a head of department
finance
capital or property, as contrasted with the income derived from it
the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
a main roof truss or rafter
music
the chief instrumentalist in a section of the orchestra
one of the singers in an opera company
either of two types of open diapason organ stops, one of four-foot length and pitch and the other of eight-foot length and pitch
the leading performer in a play
Origin of principal
1principal
Derived forms of principal
- principalship, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for principal
The original amount of money lent, not including profits and interest.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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