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

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

Having run against Badenoch for Tory leader in 2022, he praised her performance as leader so far - saying her hoping to be Britain's next prime minister was a weight off his own shoulders.

From BBC ● 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

"Of course there are issues. I've been prime minister myself for 14 years. You have to take tough decisions, and it's not always easy."

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Bram Fischer, a part-time lecturer, was the scion of a distinguished Afrikaner family: his grandfather had been prime minister of the Orange River Colony and his father was judge-president of the Orange Free State.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela