prime minister

/ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/

noun

The chief member of the cabinet and head of the government, especially in a parliamentary democracy; often the leader of the majority party.

“This is a list of all prime ministers since Churchill.”

Similar
PMpremierchancellor
OriginFrench premier ministre →
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Meanings

prime minister1

nounprime minister (plural prime ministers)

plural prime ministers

  1. The chief member of the cabinet and head of the government, especially in a parliamentary democracy; often the leader of the majority party.

    This is a list of all prime ministers since Churchill.

    2 more examples

    Yesterday we had a visit from the Prime Minister / prime minister.

    If confirmed as prime minister, Varadkar will lead a country still emerging from the shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis, which hit the debt-fuelled "Celtic Tiger" economy particularly hard after a period of rapid growth.

    2017 June 2, Associated Press, “Ireland set to have 1st openly gay prime minister”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 29 May 2018

    Synonyms: PM, premier

Prime Minister2

nounPrime Minister (plural Prime Ministers)

plural Prime Ministers

  1. Alternative letter-case form of prime minister.

    The demolition of two mosques in India within days of each other has highlighted the deep religious divide in the country, months before voters head to the polls for a nationwide election that is expected to hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi a rare third term in power.

    2024 February 15, Aishwarya S Iyer and Rhea Mogul, “‘Erasing a part of history’ – What a double mosque demolition tells us about India ahead of crucial election”, in CNN

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe chief member of the cabinet and head of the government, especially in a parliamentary democracy; often the leader of the majority party.

Similar
PMpremier

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe person who is head of government (in several countries)

Similar
chancellorpremier
Broader
head of statechief of state

nounthe person who holds the position of head of the government in the United Kingdom

Similar
PMpremier
Broader
head of statechief of state
Also see
chancellorminister-presidentpmpremier

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Frenchpremier ministre
  2. Englishprime minister

Calque of French premier ministre.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans eerste minister
  • eerste ministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Ancient Greek τριστάτης
  • τριστάτης (tristátēs)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Arabic رَئِيس وُزَرَاء, رَئِيسَة وُزَرَاء
  • رَئِيس وُزَرَاء (raʔīs wuzarāʔ)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • رَئِيسَة وُزَرَاء (raʔīsat wuzarāʔ)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • رَئِيس حُكُومَة (raʔīs ḥukūma)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • رَئِيسَة حُكُومَة (raʔīsat ḥukūma)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • الْوَزِير الأوَّل (al-wazīr al-ʔawwal)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Basque lehen ministro
  • lehen ministrochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Bengali প্রধানমন্ত্রী, উজিরে আজম
  • প্রধানমন্ত্রী (prodhanomontri)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • উজিরে আজম (ujire ajom)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Bulgarian мини́стър-председа́тел, мини́стър-председа́телка
  • мини́стър-председа́тел (minístăr-predsedátel)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • мини́стър-председа́телка (minístăr-predsedátelka)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • премие́р (premiér)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • премие́рка (premiérka)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Catalan primer ministre
  • primer ministrechief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Chinese Cantonese 首相, 總理 /总理
  • 首相 (sau² soeng³)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • 總理 /总理 (zung² lei⁵)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Chinese Mandarin 首相, 總理 /总理
  • 首相 (shǒuxiàng)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • 總理 /总理 (zǒnglǐ)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Czech premiér, premiérka
  • premiérchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premiérkachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • ministerský předsedachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • ministerská předsedkyněchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Danish statsminister, premierminister
  • statsministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premierministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Dutch eerste minister, premier
  • eerste ministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premierchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • minister-presidentchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Esperanto ĉefministro, ministroprezidanto
  • ĉefministrochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • ministroprezidantochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premierochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Estonian peaminister
  • peaministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Finnish pääministeri
  • pääministerichief member of the cabinet and head of the government
French premier ministre, première ministre
  • premier ministrechief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • première ministrechief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • chef du gouvernementchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
German Premierminister, Premierministerin
  • Premierministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Premierministerinchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Greek πρωθυπουργός, πρωθυπουργίνα
  • πρωθυπουργός (prothypourgós)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • πρωθυπουργίνα (prothypourgína)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Hebrew רֹאשׁ־מֶמְשָׁלָה
  • רֹאשׁ־מֶמְשָׁלָה (rosh-memshalá)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Hindi प्रधान मंत्री, वज़ीर-ए-आज़म
  • प्रधान मंत्री (pradhān mantrī)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • वज़ीर-ए-आज़म (vazīr-e-āzam)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Hungarian miniszterelnök
  • miniszterelnökchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Icelandic forsætisráðherra
  • forsætisráðherrachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Indonesian perdana menteri
  • perdana menterichief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Irish príomh-aire
  • príomh-airechief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Italian primo ministro, prima ministra
  • primo ministrochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • prima ministrachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • capo del governochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Japanese 首相, 総理大臣
  • 首相 (shushō)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • 総理大臣 (sōri daijin)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • 内閣総理大臣 (naikaku sōri daijin)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Korean 총리, 수상
  • 총리 (chongni)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • 수상 (susang)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • 각하 (gakha)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Latvian premjerministrs, premjerministre
  • premjerministrschief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premjerministrechief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • ministru prezidentschief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • ministru prezidentechief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Lithuanian premjeras, premjerė
  • premjeraschief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premjerėchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • ministras pirmininkaschief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • ministrė pirmininkėchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Malay perdana menteri
  • perdana menterichief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Māori pirimia
  • pirimiachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Norwegian Bokmål statsminister
  • statsministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Polish premier
  • premierchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Portuguese primeiro-ministro, premiê
  • primeiro-ministrochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premiêchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premierchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • primeira-ministrachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Punjabi ਪਰਧਾਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ, پَرْدھان مَنْتَری
  • ਪਰਧਾਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ (pardhān mantrī)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • پَرْدھان مَنْتَری (pardhān mantarī)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Romanian prim-ministru, premier
  • prim-ministruchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premierchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Russian премье́р-мини́стр, премье́р
  • премье́р-мини́стр (premʹjér-minístr)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • премье́р (premʹjér)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • глава́ прави́тельства (glavá pravítelʹstva)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Scottish Gaelic prìomhair
  • prìomhairchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Slovak predseda vlády, predsedkyňa vlády
  • predseda vládychief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • predsedkyňa vládychief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premiérchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • premiérkachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Spanish primer ministro, presidente del Gobierno
  • primer ministrochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • presidente del Gobiernochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • primera ministrachief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Swahili waziri mkuu
  • waziri mkuuchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Swedish premiärminister, statsminister
  • premiärministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • statsministerchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Tagalog punong ministro
  • punong ministrochief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Tamil பிரதமர்
  • பிரதமர் (piratamar)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Thai นายกรัฐมนตรี, อัครมหาเสนาบดี
  • นายกรัฐมนตรี (naa-yók-rát-tà-mon-dtrii)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • อัครมหาเสนาบดี (àk-krá-má-hǎa-sěe-naa-bɔɔ-dii)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • นายกฯ (naa-yók)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Turkish başbakan
  • başbakanchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Ukrainian прем'є́р-міні́стр, прем'є́р-міні́стрка
  • прем'є́р-міні́стр (premʺjér-minístr)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • прем'є́р-міні́стрка (premʺjér-minístrka)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • прем'є́р (premʺjér)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • прем'є́рка (premʺjérka)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Urdu وَزِیرِ اَعْظَم, پَرْدھان مَنْتَری
  • وَزِیرِ اَعْظَم (vazīr-i a'zam)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • پَرْدھان مَنْتَری (pardhān mantarī)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Vietnamese thủ tướng
  • thủ tướngchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Welsh prif weinidog
  • prif weinidogchief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Yiddish פּרעמיער, פּרעמיערשע
  • פּרעמיער (premyer)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • פּרעמיערשע (premyershe)chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
Cite this entry
APA

prime minister. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prime%20minister

MLA

“prime minister.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prime%20minister. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “prime minister,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/prime%20minister.

Source: prime minister on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.