prime minister

American  

noun

• prime ministers
  plural

1. the principal minister and head of government in parliamentary systems; chief of the cabinet or ministry.

   the British prime minister.

---

prime minister British  

noun

1. the head of a parliamentary government

2. the chief minister of a sovereign or a state

---

prime minister Cultural  

1. The head of government in many nations. Prime minister is commonly the title of the head of government in a parliamentary system, such as that of Britain or Canada.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prime ministership
  noun
• prime ministry
  noun
• prime-ministership
  noun
• prime-ministerial
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prime ministers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prime minister

First recorded in 1640–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prime minister

Martin said he appreciated the meeting going ahead, telling the prime minister: "I think your sense of duty shines through."

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Binance CEO Richard Teng was planning to fly to Athens for a photo shoot with the prime minister, and his local deputy was about to sign an office lease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Within a day, a Hellenic Capital Market Commission vice chair told Binance that Lagarde had asked the Greek prime minister not to approve it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

She regrouped with the left-wing bloc and parliament re-elected her prime minister five days later, making her Sweden's first woman head of government since the abdication of Queen Ulrika Eleonora in 1720.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Then, with a sense of disbelief, he recognized the prime minister standing, slack jawed, next to Herod Sayle.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz