Phrase guide

prime minister

noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • This is a list of all prime ministers since Churchill.
  • Yesterday we had a visit from the Prime Minister / prime minister.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: minister, government minister

2

noun

Meaning 2

Alternative letter-case form of prime minister.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

the person who is head of state (in several countries)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chancellor, premier

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: head of state, chief of state

Narrower terms: taoiseach

4

noun

Meaning 4

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: PM, premier

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: head of state, chief of state

History

Etymology

Calque of French premier ministre.

Across languages

Translations

195 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: eerste minister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Albanian: kryeministër — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Albanian: kryeministri — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Albanian: kryeministre — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Amharic: ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር (ṭäḳlay ministər) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Arabic: رَئِيس وُزَرَاء (raʔīs wuzarāʔ) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Arabic: رَئِيسَة وُزَرَاء (raʔīsat wuzarāʔ) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Arabic: رَئِيس حُكُومَة (raʔīs ḥukūma) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Arabic: رَئِيسَة حُكُومَة (raʔīsat ḥukūma) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Arabic: الْوَزِير الأوَّل (al-wazīr al-ʔawwal) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Arabic: رَئيس وُزَراء (raʔīs wuzarāʔ) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܪܹܝܫ ܫܲܪܝܼܪܹ̈ܐ (rēš šārīre) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Armenian: վարչապետ (varčʻapet) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Asturian: primer ministru — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Azerbaijani: baş nazir — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Basque: lehen ministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Belarusian: прэм'е́р-міні́стр (premʺjér-minístr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Belarusian: прэм'е́р-міні́стар (premʺjér-minístar) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Belarusian: прэм'е́р-міні́стрка (premʺjér-minístrka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Belarusian: прэм'е́р-міні́старка (premʺjér-minístarka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Belarusian: прэм'е́р (premʺjér) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Belarusian: прэм'е́рка (premʺjérka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Bengali: প্রধানমন্ত্রী (prodhanomontri) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Bengali: উজিরে আজম (ujire ajom) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Bulgarian: мини́стър-председа́тел (minístǎr-predsedátel) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Bulgarian: мини́стър-председа́телка (minístǎr-predsedátelka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Bulgarian: премие́р (premiér) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Bulgarian: премие́рка (premiérka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Burmese: ဝန်ကြီးချုပ် (wankri:hkyup) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Buryat: юрэнхы һайд (jurenxy hajd) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Catalan: primer ministre — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Chichewa: nduna yaikulu — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Chinese Cantonese: 首相 (sau2 soeng3) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Chinese Cantonese: 總理 /总理 (zung2 lei5) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Hakka Chinese: 首相 (sú-siong) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Chinese: 首相 (zh-min-nan) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Chinese: 總理 /总理 (zh-min-nan) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Chinese Mandarin: 首相 (shǒuxiàng) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Chinese Mandarin: 總理 /总理 (zǒnglǐ) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Czech: premiér — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Czech: premiérka — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Czech: ministerský předseda — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Czech: ministerská předsedkyně — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Danish: statsminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Danish: premierminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Dhivehi: ބޮޑުވަޒީރު (boḍuvazīru) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Dutch: eerste minister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Dutch: premier — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Dutch: minister-president — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Esperanto: ĉefministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Esperanto: ministroprezidanto — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Esperanto: premiero — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Estonian: peaminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Faroese: forsætisráðharri — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Finnish: pääministeri — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • French: premier ministre — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • French: première ministre — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • French: chef du gouvernement — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Galician: primeiro ministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Georgian: პრემიერ-მინისტრი (ṗremier-minisṭri) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Georgian: პრემიერი (ṗremieri) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • German: Premierminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • German: Premierministerin — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Greek: πρωθυπουργός (prothypourgós) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Greek: πρωθυπουργίνα (prothypourgína) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Ancient Greek: τριστάτης (tristátēs) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Greenlandic: ministeriuneq — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Gujarati: વડાપ્રધાન (vaḍāpradhān) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Hausa: firaminista — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Hebrew: רֹאשׁ־מֶמְשָׁלָה (rosh-memshalá) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Hindi: प्रधान मंत्री (pradhān mantrī) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Hindi: वज़ीर-ए-आज़म (vazīr-e-āzam) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Hungarian: miniszterelnök — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Icelandic: forsætisráðherra — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Indonesian: perdana menteri — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Interlingua: prime ministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Irish: príomh-aire — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Italian: primo ministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Italian: prima ministra — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Italian: capo del governo — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Japanese: 首相 (shushō) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Japanese: 総理大臣 (sōri daijin) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Japanese: 内閣総理大臣 (naikaku sōri daijin) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Kannada: ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಮಂತ್ರಿ (pradhāna mantri) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Kazakh: премьер-министр (premer-ministr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Kazakh: бас министр (bas ministr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Khmer: នាយករដ្ឋមន្ត្រី (niəyŭəkrŏətmŭəntrəy) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Khmer: អធិការបតី (ʼaʼthikaaraʼpaʼdəy) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Korean: 총리 (chongni) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Korean: 수상 (susang) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Korean: 각하 (gakha) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Northern Kurdish: serokwezîr — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Kyrgyz: баш-министр (baş-ministr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Kyrgyz: премьер-министр (premyer-ministr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Lao: ນາຍົກລັດຖະມົນຕີ (nk lat tha mon tī) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Latvian: premjerministrs — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Latvian: premjerministre — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Latvian: ministru prezidents — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Latvian: ministru prezidente — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Lithuanian: premjeras — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Lithuanian: premjerė — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Lithuanian: ministras pirmininkas — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Lithuanian: ministrė pirmininkė — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Macedonian: премие́р (premiér) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Macedonian: премие́рка (premiérka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Malay: perdana menteri — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Maltese: prim — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Maltese: prim ministru — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Manx: ard-vinishter — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Māori: pirimia — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Marathi: पंतप्रधान (pantapradhān) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Mongolian: ерөнхий сайд (jörönxii sajd) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Mongolian: тэргүүн сайд (tergüün sajd) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Mongolian: ᠶᠡᠷᠦᠩᠬᠡᠢ ᠰᠠᠶᠢᠳ (yerüngkei sayid) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Mongolian: ᠲᠡᠷᠢᠭᠦᠨ ᠰᠠᠶᠢᠳ (terigün sayid) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Nepali: प्रधान मन्त्री (pradhān mantri) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Norwegian Bokmål: statsminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: statsminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Occitan: primièr ministre — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Pannonian Rusyn: премиєр (premijer) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Pannonian Rusyn: премиєрка (premijerka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Pashto: لومړی وزير (lumṛay wazīr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Dari: نَخُسْتوَزِیر (naxust-wazīr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Dari: نُخُسْتوَزِیر (nuxust-wazīr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Dari: وَزِیرِ اَعْظَم (wazīr-i a'zam) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Iranian Persian: نَخُسْتوَزیر (naxost-vazir) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Iranian Persian: نُخُسْتوَزیر (noxost-vazir) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Iranian Persian: وَزیرِ اَعْظَم (vazir-e a'zam) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Polish: premier — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Portuguese: primeiro-ministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Portuguese: premiê — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Portuguese: premier — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Portuguese: primeira-ministra — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Punjabi: ਪਰਧਾਨ ਮੰਤਰੀ (pardhān mantrī) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Punjabi: پَرْدھان مَنْتَری (pardhān mantarī) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Romanian: prim-ministru — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Romanian: premier — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Russian: премье́р-мини́стр (premʹjér-minístr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Russian: премье́р (premʹjér) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Russian: глава́ прави́тельства (glavá pravítelʹstva) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Samogitian: mėnėstros pėrmėninks — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Sanskrit: प्रधान मंत्री (pradhāna maṃtrī) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Scots: prime meinster — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Scottish Gaelic: prìomhair — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Semai: perdane menteri — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Serbo-Croatian: премѝје̄р — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Serbo-Croatian: премѝје̄рка — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Serbo-Croatian: premìjēr — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Serbo-Croatian: premìjērka — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Shan: ဝုၼ်ႇၵျီးၶျုၵ်ႈ (wùn kjíi khjūk) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Slovak: predseda vlády — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Slovak: predsedkyňa vlády — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Slovak: premiér — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Slovak: premiérka — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Slovene: premier — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Slovene: premierka — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Spanish: primer ministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Spanish: presidente del Gobierno — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Spanish: primera ministra — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Swahili: waziri mkuu — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Swedish: premiärminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Swedish: statsminister — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tagalog: punong ministro — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tajik: сарвазир (sarvazir) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tajik: нахуствазир (naxustvazir) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tajik: вазири аъзам (vazir-i a'zam) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tamil: பிரதமர் (piratamar) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tatar: премьер-министр (prem-yır-ministr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Telugu: ప్రధాని (pradhāni) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Telugu: ప్రధాన మంత్రి (pradhāna mantri) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Thai: นายกรัฐมนตรี (naa-yók-rát-tà-mon-dtrii) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Thai: อัครมหาเสนาบดี (àk-krá-má-hǎa-sěe-naa-bɔɔ-dii) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Thai: นายกฯ (naa-yók) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tok Pisin: praim minista — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Tongan: palemia — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Turkish: başbakan — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Turkmen: premýer-ministr — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Turkmen: baş ministr — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Ukrainian: прем'є́р-міні́стр (premʺjér-minístr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Ukrainian: прем'є́р-міні́стрка (premʺjér-minístrka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Ukrainian: прем'є́р (premʺjér) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Ukrainian: прем'є́рка (premʺjérka) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Urdu: وَزِیرِ اَعْظَم (vazīr-i a'zam) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Urdu: پَرْدھان مَنْتَری (pardhān mantarī) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Uyghur: باش ۋەزىر (bash wezir) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Uyghur: باش مىنىستر (bash ministr) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Uzbek: bosh ministr — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Uzbek: bosh vazir — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Vietnamese: thủ tướng — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Walloon: prumî minisse — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Walloon: prumire minisse — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Welsh: prif weinidog — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Wolaytta: xaatta moconaa — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Yiddish: פּרעמיער (premyer) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government
  • Yiddish: פּרעמיערשע (premyershe) — chief member of the cabinet and head of the government