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• prince
  prince

  noun

  a nonreigning male member of a royal family.
• Prince
  Prince

  noun

  Harold S(mith) Hal, 1928–2019, U.S. stage director and producer.

prince

¹ American  

[prins] / prɪns /

noun

princes plural

1. a nonreigning male member of a royal family.

2. History/Historical. a sovereign or monarch; king.

3. (in Great Britain) a son or grandson (if the child of a son) of a king or queen.

4. the English equivalent of any of various titles of nobility in other countries.

5. a holder of such a title.

6. the ruler of a small state, as one actually or nominally subordinate to a suzerain.

   Monaco is ruled by a prince.

7. a person or thing that is chief or preeminent in any class, group, etc..

   a merchant prince.

8. a person possessing admirably fine and genial characteristics.

   He is a prince of a man.

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Prince ² American  

[prins] / prɪns /

noun

1. Harold S(mith) Hal, 1928–2019, U.S. stage director and producer.

2. Prince Rogers Nelson, 1958–2016, U.S. singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

3. a male given name.

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prince ¹ British  

/ prɪns /

noun

1. (in Britain) a son of the sovereign or of one of the sovereign's sons

2. a nonreigning male member of a sovereign family

3. the monarch of a small territory, such as Monaco, usually called a principality, that was at some time subordinate to an emperor or king

4. any sovereign; monarch

5. a nobleman in various countries, such as Italy and Germany

6. an outstanding member of a specified group

   a merchant prince

7. informal a generous and charming man

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Prince ² British  

/ prɪns /

noun

1. full name Prince Rogers Nelson. born 1958, US rock singer, songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist. His albums include Dirty Mind (1981), Purple Rain (1984), Parade (1986), and Sign o' the Times (1987)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• princeship
  noun
• princeless
  adjective
• princelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• princes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prince

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French < Latin prīncip- (stem of prīnceps ) first, principal (adj.), principal person, leader (noun), equivalent to prīn- for prīmus prime + -cep- (combining form of capere to take) + -s nominative singular ending

Explanation

A prince is royalty, the son of a king or queen. Originally, a prince was the ruler of and individual territory, also known as “principalities.” A prince is a popular fairy tale hero, but there are real live ones, too. A prince is the son of a monarch, possibly even the person who stands to inherit the title of king after his father's death. Sometimes, though, a prince is simply a member of the royal family, or even a ruler over a small area of the monarch's country. Prince comes from the Latin princeps, "first man" or "ruler," from primus, "first." A prince is often first in line to inherit the throne.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prince Prince princes

Burns helped burnish Gannon’s credentials, personally telling the prince that the operative was the American in the room as Israel negotiated with Hamas to release its hostages in the aftermath of the Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Under the proposed terms of the deal, £1m would be loaned to a firm controlled by the prince, which would then be bound to do business exclusively with Cantor Fitzgerald.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

The prince gave emotional testimony during the proceedings in which several high-profile figures, including singer Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, accused the tabloid publisher of invading their privacy.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

And last week, before the prince travelled, there was confusion over whether he was going to stay in Buckingham Palace.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

And the prince knew so long as the young king wore that ring, whatever power he claimed to grant would be meaningless.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Wildfires in the UK and Europe are a "stark reminder of the challenges posed by an increasingly extreme climate", the Prince of Wales has said.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

The essence of this duo was the outré interplay between the Prince and the Putz, the Leading Man and the Monkey.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

It was a big win for Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose goal is to diversify the kingdom’s economy beyond oil.

From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026

"A link-up is a bunch of kids basically just coming together to play music, have fun, talk," Prince, 18, tells me.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

He did not trust the Prince of Demons.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

This changed when “Heated Rivalry” actors Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams broke the formula, starring as two rival fae princes in “Ember & Ice,” Quinn’s most popular series to date.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

Dad rocker Phil Collins and reformed Britpop princes Oasis led the 2026 class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees who were announced on live US television on Monday.

From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026

Plus, a new cyber scam, the royal rift between England’s princes, and actor Colman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

Perhaps the book’s greatest feat is its depiction of the historical moment when the modern overpowered the ancient—a world, now lost, of floridly costumed courtiers, fabled princes, exotic vices and perfumed palaces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 4, 2026

The people loved peace and quiet and, because of this, they were pleased by decent princes, while the soldiers loved a prince with military spirit who was cruel, arrogant, and rapacious.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli