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Showing results for title role. Search instead for Pivotal role.
Synonyms

title role

American  

noun

  1. (in a play, opera, etc.) the role or character from which the title is derived.

    She sang the title role in Carmen.
title role British  

noun

  1. the role of the character after whom a play, etc, is named

"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

Etymology

Origin of title role

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Roles outside of the Queen of the Night included the title role in “Lucia di Lammermoor,” the princess in “The Snow Queen,” Zerlina in “Don Giovanni” and Pat Nixon in “Nixon in China.”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026

She broke out in the endearingly awkward title role of the Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire” then went on to star in family-friendly movies like “Agent Cody Banks” and “Cheaper by the Dozen.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

Near Kelly: Set against the Teton Range, the movie “Shane” ends with Alan Ladd in the title role riding away on his horse while little Joey wails, “Shane! SHANE! Come back!”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Clooney has been praised for playing the title role in Jay Kelly, with New York Magazine saying his turn as an aging movie stars was "the performance of his life".

From BBC • Jan. 9, 2026

We were supposed to be doing Peter Pan for the winter musical, and I was basically dying to play the title role, but it was canceled too.

From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.