How to pronounce principal

Say it like this: /ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/. Listen to real recordings below and compare how it sounds in different accents.

American/ˈpɹɪn.sɪ.pəl/
British
Australian

What does principal mean?

adjPrimary; most important; first level in importance.

“Smith is the principal architect of this design.”

Of or relating to a prince; princely.

“But walkt at will, and wandred to and fro, / In the pride of his freedome principall.”

Chosen or assumed among a branch of possible values of a multi-valued function so that the function is single-valued.

“Two is the principal square root of 4. Both −2 and +2 are square roots of 4.”

nounThe money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.

“A portion of your mortgage payment goes to reduce the principal, and the rest covers interest.”

The chief administrator of a school.

“The important administrative figure to the teacher is the school principal.”

The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.

“Coordinate term: bursar”

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Pronunciations and meanings from Wiktionary via kaikki.org, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Recordings by Wikimedia Commons contributors. This page is shared under the same license.