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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

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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

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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

How frustrating that he of all people — the dark prince of pranks — may be Holmes’ latest patsy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026

He was truly my shining star, my shining prince.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

While supportive of continued economic pressure on Iran, the crown prince was telling his advisers to keep the diplomatic channel open with Iran and make clear the kingdom’s intentions weren’t confrontational, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Sources told the paper that the Royal Lodge was left in an "absolute state", and the former prince was unable to foot the bill.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

The jackalope prince answered with a real snore.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

But it also linked Prince to operations in January 2026 to retake Uvira, a major South Kivu city briefly captured by the M23.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

In 2024, Prince signed a contract with the Congolese finance ministry worth between $100 million and $200 million, GI-TOC said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Prince Mohammed told the group that the better strategy was to hone skills in the U.S. before coming back to the kingdom, the young graduate, named Abdulrahman Alfozan, recalled in a recently released podcast interview.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

The Prince Charles cinema in Leicester Square has been saved from potential closure after signing a 25-year lease.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Princess Senwa and Prince Kakono danced apart, apparently still not reconciled with each other.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Each trade has its kings and queens, its princes and princesses.

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

Many excluded Indians altogether or admitted only a small number of princes and magnates.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

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

The Koh-i-Noor, meaning "Mountain of Light" in Persian, has been the subject of conquest and intrigue for centuries, passing through the hands of Mughal princes, Iranian warriors, Afghan rulers and Punjabi Maharajas.

From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026

Nothing more can be added to the second case than to encourage such princes to fortify and provision their own cities, and not to concern themselves with the surrounding countryside.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

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