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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

But the prince worries sending more Saudi troops to Yemen could be bloody and spark anger at home, the Saudi officials said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

The prince served a three-year tour flying Sea King helicopters with the Search and Rescue team at RAF Valley on Anglesey between 2010 and 2013, qualifying as a captain.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

"It was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other members of this family," a spokesperson for the prince told the paper.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The crown prince had seen success in other areas as well.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 19, 2026

But he was not such a fool as to think that he could simply free the prince from his bonds and not suffer consequences.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Thursday on four people and 41 companies tied to the Prince Group, a Cambodian firm accused of running a billion-dollar scam operation.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

Within Saudi Arabia, officials say Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman realizes the challenge the kingdom faces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

In the company’s earnings release, CEO Matthew Prince cited an acceleration in enterprise customer demand.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026

Visiting Treherbert in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which was threatened by a huge mountain fire in August, Prince William praised a "gargantuan" effort to save homes, land and lives.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

But he had named one of Anastasia's gerbils Prince, so that name was taken, even though they didn't have the gerbil anymore.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

Even though the modern orchestra originated three centuries ago as a plaything of princes, there has always been an implicit connection — and tension — between orchestras and democracy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

In Zvirynets—once the hunting grounds of medieval princes, now a leafy upscale neighborhood—residents hurry to the subway station.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

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

From Salon ● Aug. 18, 2026

Working through more than 6,500 pages in Kolkata's National Library, he followed princes, generals, courtiers, royal women, imperial eunuchs and many others through tens of thousands of entries.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

Most of the children in the High King’s Court are royals, sent from smaller Courts to gain influence with the princes and princesses, and have no time for much else.

From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black

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