principal: meaning and words from its letters
9 letters · 15 letter points · starts with P · ends with L
Meaning of principal
adj
Primary; most important; first level in importance.
Example: Smith is the principal architect of this design.
Chosen or assumed among a branch of possible values of a multi-valued function so that the function is single-valued.
Example: Two is the principal square root of 4. Both −2 and +2 are square roots of 4.
- Latinism, obsolete
Of or relating to a prince; princely.
Listed forms: principall.
Source: Wiktionary — principal.
noun
- uncountable
The money originally invested or loaned, on which basis interest and returns are calculated.
Example: A portion of your mortgage payment goes to reduce the principal, and the rest covers interest.
- Australia, Canada, New-Zealand, Philippines, US, countable, uncountable
The chief administrator of a school.
- Canada, UK, countable, uncountable
The chief executive and chief academic officer of a university or college.
- countable, uncountable
A legal person that authorizes another (the agent) to act on their behalf; or on whose behalf an agent or gestor in a negotiorum gestio acts.
Example: When an attorney represents a client, the client is the principal who permits the attorney, the client′s agent, to act on the client′s behalf.
Listed forms: principals, principall.
Source: Wiktionary — principal.
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki.org. Selected senses and forms; quotations omitted. Definition text is CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms by meaning
Words are grouped by sense, so they are not necessarily interchangeable in every context. Search synonyms for principal.
adjective
most important element
noun
the educator who has executive authority for a school
- school principal
- head teacher
- head
noun
an actor who plays a principal role
noun
capital as contrasted with the income derived from it
- corpus
- principal sum
Open English WordNet Team, 2025, derived from Princeton University WordNet; selected synonym groups under CC BY 4.0. Source · OEWN notice · Princeton notice.
Is principal in our word lists?
| Word list | Status |
|---|---|
| American English | Found |
| British English | Found |
| Extended English | Found |
These are spelling-list matches, not official game validity checks. Check the rules and dictionary used by your game.
Letter-value score of principal
P(3) + R(1) + I(1) + N(1) + C(3) + I(1) + P(3) + A(1) + L(1) = 15 points.
This is a sum of letter values without board bonuses or word multipliers. A blank tile is worth zero: subtract the value of each letter supplied by a blank. The score does not establish game validity. Full letter-value table.
Anagrams of principal
0 other standard-list words use exactly these letters, including repeated letters.
No other single-word anagram was found in our standard list.
Shorter words from principal
84 shorter standard-list words can be made using no letter more often than it occurs in principal. Showing up to 24, longest first.