premier

[pri-meer, -myeer, pree-meer]

noun

1. the head of the cabinet in France or Italy or certain other countries; first minister; prime minister.

2. a chief officer.

adjective

1. first in rank; chief; leading.

2. first in time; earliest; oldest.

premier

/ ˈprɛmjə /

noun

1. another name for prime minister

2. any of the heads of governments of the Canadian provinces and the Australian states

3. (plural) the winners of a premiership

adjective

1. first in importance, rank, etc

2. first in occurrence; earliest

premier

1. The head of government in many nations. A premier's position is usually the same as that of a prime minister. The chiefs of government of the provinces of Canada are called premiers.

Other Word Forms

• premiership noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of premier¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English primer, primier, premer (adjective), from Anglo-French primer, premer and Middle French premier, primier, literally, “first,” from Latin prīmārius “of the first rank”; primary

Word History and Origins

Origin of premier¹

C15: from Old French: first, from Latin prīmārius principal, from prīmus first

Example Sentences

President Maia Sandu is expected to nominate a new premier after holding consultations.

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For his part, the premier has pledged to work with all mainstream political movements and vowed to select cabinet members who are "not imprisoned by parties".

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Pressure mounted Saturday on France's newly reappointed premier Sebastien Lecornu to get an austerity budget approved, as more parties threatened to topple a man whose first term lasted a mere 27 days.

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Macron's decision to keep Lecornu as his premier is his latest gambit as he tries to see through the final year and a half of his presidential mandate.

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Later, the city’s central location helped to make it the nation’s premier railroad nexus and a major airline hub.

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When To Use

What does premier mean?

Premier is used to refer to the head of the government of certain countries, equivalent to a prime minister, as in The premier of France gave a speech today.Premier can also mean that something is highest in rank or is chief among a group, as in NASA is the premier authority on American spaceflight.Alternatively, premier can mean that something occurred earliest in time or is the oldest, as in The director has come a long way since the inexperience she showed during her premier film.The government position that a premier holds is referred to as a premiership, as in The popular premier restored a sense of respect and authority to the premiership.The word premier can be easily confused with the word premiere, which is often pronounced exactly the same. Premiere refers to the first public showing or display of something, as in The museum announced the premiere of a new dinosaur exhibit scheduled for later this month. Notably, premiere is used as a verb while premier is not.Example: The Italian premier met with the leaders of many other nations during the conference.