prime minister

1 of 2

noun (1)

1
: the chief minister of a ruler or state
2
: the official head of a cabinet or ministry
especially : the chief executive of a parliamentary government
prime ministerial adjective
prime ministership noun
prime ministry noun

prime ministry

2 of 2

noun (2)

1
: the office of prime minister
2
: the term of office of a prime minister

Examples of prime minister in a Sentence

Noun (1) the Prime Minister of England
Recent Examples on the Web
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Noun
Two former prime ministers under Macron, Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, are in the race; Philippe is competing with Mélenchon for second place, while Attal trails both. — Nicholas Bequelin, Time, 16 Oct. 2026 Gascón will play Manuela, a teacher in an elite school, and Ituño the the role of Evita, the personal secretary to the prime minister of the series’ fictional country. — Annika Pham, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026 Erdogan’s appointment as prime minister in 2003 after a ballot-box triumph by his Justice and Development Party was initially hailed as a sign that a form of Islamism could coexist with democracy. — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026 Japan's prime minister attended parliamentary sessions for 72 days in 2022, compared to 50 in Britain and 13 in Germany, Fujita said, citing a recent report by a political think tank NXJI Research. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for prime minister

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1655, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of prime minister was in 1655

Rhymes for prime minister

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Browse Nearby Words

prime meridian
prime minister
prime ministerial
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Cite this Entry

“Prime minister.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prime%20minister. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Kids Definition

prime minister

noun
: the chief officer of the government in some countries

Legal Definition

prime minister

noun
prime min·​is·​ter
-ˈmi-nə-stər
1
: the chief minister of a ruler or state
2
: the official head of a cabinet or ministry
especially : the chief executive of a parliamentary government
prime ministerial
-ˌmi-nə-ˈstir-ē-əl
adjective
prime ministership noun
prime ministry
-ˈmi-nə-strē
noun

More from Merriam-Webster on prime minister

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about prime minister

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