princess
Americannoun
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princesses
plural
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a nonreigning female member of a royal family.
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History/Historical. a female sovereign or monarch; queen.
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the consort of a prince.
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(in Great Britain) a daughter or granddaughter (if the child of a son) of a king or queen.
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a woman considered to have the qualities or characteristics of a princess.
adjective
noun
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(in Britain) a daughter of the sovereign or of one of the sovereign's sons
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a nonreigning female member of a sovereign family
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the wife and consort of a prince
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any very attractive or outstanding woman
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Also called: princess dress. princess line. a style of dress with a fitted bodice and an A-line skirt that is shaped by seams from shoulder to hem without a seam at the waistline
Gender
See -ess.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of princess
1350–1400; Middle English princesse < Middle French. See prince, -ess
Explanation
A princess is the daughter of a king or queen, or the wife of a prince. Some children like to have princess parties because they get to wear fancy dresses, tiaras, and little plastic high heels. In countries that are monarchies, rulers are born into their positions and are typically called kings and queens. If they have a daughter, she’s a princess. Women who marry into these families can also become princesses. The popular image of a princess might be Cinderella dressed for the ball, but modern princesses look a lot more like ordinary people. Princess is the feminine form of prince, from the Latin princeps, "chief leader."
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:
In June, Bardella was photographed sipping from a wine glass alongside the princess in a VIP box at the Monaco Grand Prix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Unlike the wealthy playboy Iron Man, the alien Superman, or the Amazon princess Wonder Woman, Spider-Man was created in 1962 to be relatable for comic book readers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The 155th Brigade is known as "Anne of Kyiv", named after a Medieval Kyiv princess who married into the French royal family.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
“Moana” became a box office hit, captivating audiences with catchy earworms from Lin-Manuel Miranda and a spunky young heroine who rejected the label of princess.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
“You do not act like a princess should,” she said, raising an eyebrow.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
"The men want to be passenger princesses," he says.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
Operating since 2002, Funky Divas & Dudes, like most of these party businesses, offers princesses, superheroes and other pop culture-inspired characters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
Moore said he later realised that more inspiration might also have come from years of reading stories about "kings and queens and princesses" to his daughter Mary.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
Elsewhere, it appears the princesses were called upon by him to entertain his contacts and give tours of Buckingham Palace.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026
The two princesses bowed gratefully and warmly kissed their brothers, and they all agreed that a very fine thing had happened.
From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster
Definitions 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.
