How to Use principal in a Sentence

principal

1 of 2 adjective
  • She is the principal cellist of the orchestra.
  • Vegetables are the principal ingredients in this soup.
  • She was named principal dancer at 32.
    — Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 28 Oct. 2025
  • The principal culprit has been a surge in deaths by drug overdose.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 27 Dec. 2025
  • All the principal actors in the cast appear lost.
    — Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Its principal users were central bankers.
    — Alex Mayyasi, NPR, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Woo explains, that as a principal dancer, there are certain dance things that come along with the job.
    — Tabitha Parent, PEOPLE, 23 Dec. 2025
  • Your payment amount and terms will be completely new and based on the new principal amount.
    — Paco De Leon, refinery29.com, 4 Jan. 2022
  • The principal odor map, as the team called it, is unprecedented for the sense of smell.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 4 Sep. 2023
  • Hook himself has been principal for 19 years.
    — Kate Armanini, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Hook himself has been principal for 19 years.
    — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 3 Feb. 2026
  • There’s a new principal owner, ready to invest.
    — Pj Green march 13, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2026
  • If the interest is not paid, it’s added to the loan’s principal balance.
    — Tara Siegel Bernard, New York Times, 1 June 2023
  • Robinson has been principal at Highlands for more than eight years.
    — Chris Mayhew, Cincinnati.com, 17 July 2017
  • Principal horn Jonathan Boen, for whom it was written, was the soloist.
    — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, 12 Aug. 2017
  • The lawsuit was filed in Texas, near its principal place of business.
    — Janie Hair, Fortune, 26 Feb. 2026
  • The lawsuit was filed in Texas, near its principal place of business.
    — ABC News, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Both of those shots were not part of the principal photography.
    — Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 1 July 2022
  • This determines how much the loan will cost you in addition to the principal amount.
    — Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2022
  • Borrowers will now be able to defer principal payments for two years, up from one.
    — Christopher Rugaber, USA TODAY, 8 June 2020
  • Murder is not its principal subject, nor is the mind of the serial killer.
    — Josephine Livingstone, New Republic, 31 Oct. 2017
  • Its logline is weird and none of its principal characters are all that likable.
    — Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Oct. 2017
  • Projects must be completed within one year and have proof of school board and principal approval.
    — cleveland, 9 Apr. 2022
  • More surprising is how mushy and off-key many of his principal proposals seem.
    — Jessica T. Mathews, The New York Review of Books, 16 Jan. 2020
  • There are no principal payments for the first two years of the loan and no interest payments for the first year.
    — Christopher Rugaber, chicagotribune.com, 30 Oct. 2020
  • Laya is one of the principal way stations along the Snowman Trek.
    — Chris Jones, WSJ, 4 Feb. 2020
  • The second floor is devoted to the principal suite.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Justin Bestor will take on an associate principal role at the high school.
    — Alec Johnson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 17 May 2018
  • One of the trusts’ key assets is the principal ownership stake in the Padres.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Did any of the three principal characters arrive first?
    — Michael Schaub, Oc Register, 22 Sep. 2025

principal

2 of 2 noun
  • One of the principals in the assassination plot has been arrested.
  • The principal gave me two thumbs up.
    — Mark Glende, Twin Cities, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Dunlap runs the class with the ease of the son of a principal.
    — Paul Dehner Jr., Cincinnati.com, 29 Oct. 2017
  • So the principal and I just watched.
    — Eric Adler may 14, Kansas City Star, 14 May 2026
  • The principal said the cooking club tried out the recipe last week.
    — Kristen Griffith, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 10 Nov. 2020
  • The principal slammed the door to keep the bear out of the school, which was in session.
    — Mark Thiessen, Anchorage Daily News, 7 Feb. 2023
  • Amanda, the school principal, says some kids didn't want to come back.
    — Meg Anderson, NPR, 22 Mar. 2026
  • The student wasn’t hurt, the school’s principal said at the time.
    — Becca Savransky, Idaho Statesman, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Littman is a principal in the firm HowLitt.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 25 May 2026
  • As the case went to a grand jury, none of the principals made a statement.
    — Paula Allen, ExpressNews.com, 9 Nov. 2019
  • Even a sharp word can fuel a complaint to the school principal.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Oct. 2019
  • This season marks her debut as a principal dancer in those roles.
    — The Cut, 14 May 2018
  • If your coach insists on this shaving rule, take it to the principal.
    — Amy Dickinson, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2020
  • Just pay them their interest and principal as agreed, and all is well.
    — Michael Taylor, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Feb. 2021
  • The principal would only say that the school had done nothing wrong.
    — Abigail Kramer, ProPublica, 4 May 2023
  • Moreover, his father does not have to pay any principal on the loan for nine years.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 2 June 2020
  • The principal of the high school had been a student there in the early years of the race.
    — Devin Kelly, Longreads, 19 Jan. 2022
  • As his name was called and the principal shook his hand, the arena roared loudly.
    — Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, 29 May 2026
  • Her principal said not to worry about schoolwork for a while.
    — Jay Mathews, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2020
  • The principal said all students and staff are safe and secure.
    — Brandon Downs, CBS News, 28 May 2026
  • Your best bet, as always, is to keep trying to pay your principal down.
    — Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
  • The principal knock against D’Amaro might be through no fault of his own.
    — Paolo Confino, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
  • The principal said students will have lunch in a rainy-day format.
    — Rosalio Ahumada, Sacbee.com, 17 Mar. 2026
  • The principal gets to pick the mortgage should one be needed.
    — Jeff Lazerson, Oc Register, 8 Jan. 2026
  • So when is the best time to get principals together?
    — Allen Buchanan, Oc Register, 23 May 2026
  • That’s because the principals have been able to avoid talking about it for more than a decade.
    — Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, Twin Cities, 11 July 2019
  • And the next day, [my grandmother] walks with me to class and talks to the principal.
    — NBC News, 2 Mar. 2020
  • Her niece hasn't been back to the private school since, which the principal has allowed.
    — Arkansas Online, 17 Feb. 2026
  • The factors that cause principals to leave their schools are predictable.
    — Linda Darling-Hammond, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • His father’s son — the son of an art-school principal — Paul was a painter.
    — Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 23 Jan. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'principal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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