principaladjective [ before noun ]
uk/ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/us/ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/B1 first in order of importance:
Iraq's principal export is oil.
He was principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
That was my principal reason for moving.
More examples
- The principal aim of this meeting is to reach a decision that we all agree on.
- The diaphragm is the principal muscle of respiration.
- I would like to earn more, but this isn't my principal reason for leaving the job.
- He can't give up teaching, it's his principal source of income.
- This is the principal road between the two cities.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Very important or urgent
- all-important
- arch
- at all cost(s) idiom
- be a matter of life and/or death idiom
- burning
- chief
- considerable
- critical
- major league
- make the world go around/round idiom
- materially
- minor league
- mission-critical
- prized
- prominent
- radical
- sacred
- salient
- seriously
- substantial
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principalnoun
uk/ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/us/ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/principal noun (PERSON)
A2 US UK headteacher, head [ C ] the person in charge of a school
A2 UK [ C ] the person in charge of a college or university
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Teachers
- academician
- associate professor
- board of education
- dean
- docent
- handler
- headteacher
- housemaster
- housemistress
- instructor
- lecturer
- mentor
- professor
- professorial
- professorship
- rector
- residence
- scribe
- trainer
- tutor
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principal noun (MONEY)
[ C usually singular ] specialized finance & economics an amount of money that someone has invested in a bank or lent to a person or organization so that they will receive interest on it from the bank, person, or organization:
She lives off the interest and tries to keep the principal intact.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Interest & capital
- APR
- bank rate
- base rate
- capital intensive
- capitalization
- collateral
- fund
- interest rate
- interest-bearing
- lending rate
- money
- nest egg
- Premium Bond
- saving
- simple interest
- stock
- the purse strings idiom
- the smart money
- venture capital
- vested interest
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Stock markets