William

American  

[wil-yuhm] / ˈwɪl yəm /

noun

1. Prince William Duke of Cornwall and Cambridge, born 1982, heir apparent to the throne of the United Kingdom (son of Charles III).

2. a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter W.

3. a male given name: from Germanic words meaning “will” and “helmet.”

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William British  

/ ˈwɪljəm /

noun

1. known as William the Lion. ?1143–1214, king of Scotland (1165–1214)

2. Prince. born 1982, Duke of Cambridge, first son of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales. In 2011 he married Kate Middleton (born 1982); their son, Prince George, was born in 2013

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Example Sentences

The February disappearance of a 68-year-old retired Air Force general, William “Neil” McCasland, kicked the theorizing into high gear, particularly once a local FBI field office joined the search early last month.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026

Former Justice Department fraud section attorney William Johnston, speaking to CBS News, put it plainly: The theory that paying informants to dismantle hate groups somehow contradicts the mission of dismantling hate groups is “very stretched.”

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026

William Wilson, a local police detective, was appointed as coroner's officer to deal with the situation - and did so in a manner most unlike a traditional bobby.

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

William Gavin looked into Tesla’s plan to address complaints from customers who were promised updates to their older electric vehicles to give them self-driving capability, only to be disappointed.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

During that turbulent final week of July 1943, William Faulkner was on the other side of the world in Hollywood, California, feverishly pulling together the screenplay for the sweeping wartime movie Battle Cry.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein