headmaster
Americannoun
-
headmasters
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of headmaster
Explanation
A headmaster is the principal of a private school. Your prep school headmaster might have also taught your favorite English class. The head of a school, especially if the school is in Britain or is private or a boarding school, is called a headmaster. The headmaster is often in charge of discipline as well as the running of the school. It's common these days to use the term head teacher rather than headmaster, since it includes both male and female principals. The word headmaster has been around since the 1570's.
Vocabulary lists containing headmaster
The Night Diary
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I Will Always Write Back
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Al Capone Does My Shirts
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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.
See Examples For:
The rest comes from supporters, including companies, said headmaster Stuart Worden.
From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026
The longtime teacher, headmaster and arts advocate is still involved with schools he helped launch after Crossroads, including Camino Nuevo Charter and the Tree Academy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026
Founders’ headmaster Jason Caros rejects the allegation of “Christian nationalism” but argues that there is much to be said for those traditional values, pedagogy and curriculum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
The youngsters join John Lithgow as Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore, the school's key professors being played by Janet McTeer as Minerva McGonagall and Paapa Essiedu, as Severus Snape.
From BBC ● May 27, 2025
At our graduation ceremony, the headmaster announced that my score was the highest not only in our school but in all of Mutare.
From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda
She said headmasters at schools that received the meals from the same kitchen should monitor their pupils.
From Barron's ● Oct. 29, 2025
"You got to know his headmasters and his teachers very well because you were always getting phone calls to come and explain," his father laughs.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2022
“One of the greatest challenges that classical Christian schools and classical charter schools face today is finding qualified headmasters and administrators,” said David Diener, former Hillsdale Academy headmaster and education lecturing professor.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 13, 2022
“Sometimes headmasters tell us that they don’t quite understand how the policy works and they refuse to admit the children,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2022
I hope our headmasters don’t send a messenger with a note.
From "The Night Diary" by Veera Hiranandani
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
