principle

PRIN-si-puhl/ˈpɹɪnsɪpəl/

Pluralprinciples

Verbprinciples, principling, principled

Often confused with principal

10 meanings of principle

Practice

1
nouncountable
A basic idea or belief that guides how someone thinks or acts.
Like a rule you always follow, even when no one is watching.
Treating people fairly is an important principle in our family.
He explained the basic principle behind the whole design.
Similarpremise
Note
2
nouncountable or uncountable
A moral rule about what is right and wrong that someone tries to follow.
Like an inner rule that tells you what is right.
She refused to lie because it went against her principles.
Standing up for weaker people is a principle worth keeping.
Similartenet
Note
3
nouncountable
A rule that helps you choose the best answer when there are many options.
Like a tiebreaker rule that decides which choice wins.
We followed a simple principle: pick the cheapest option that works.
The team used one clear principle to settle every disagreement.
Similarrule, guideline, criterion
Note
4
nouncountable
A law of nature, or the basic idea behind how the laws of nature work.
Like a basic rule of nature that everything must obey.
The principle of gravity explains why a dropped apple falls down.
This little machine works on a simple principle of physics.
Similarlaw
Note
5
nouncountable
The source or beginning that something comes from, and the basic thing that causes it.
Like the seed that everything else grows out of.
Ancient thinkers searched for the single principle behind all things.
Water was once thought to be the principle of all life.
Similarsource, origin, cause, element
Note
6
nouncountable
The basic part of something that gives it a certain quality.
Like the hidden ingredient that gives a soup its flavor.
Early chemists tried to find the principle that made a plant bitter.
They believed each metal had a principle giving it its shine.
Similaressence, element
Note
7
nouncountable
A chemical found in a plant or animal that gives it its special character, like nicotine in tobacco.
Like the one ingredient that makes a chili pepper hot.
Nicotine is the principle that gives tobacco its effect.
Chemists studied the bitter principle found in willow bark.
Similaringredient, constituent
Note
8
verbtransitive
To teach someone a set of beliefs or rules to live by.
Like planting strong roots of belief in someone.
Her parents principled her in honesty from an early age.
The school aims to principle its students in good conduct.
Similarground, school, instruct, train, indoctrinate
Note
9
nouncountable
A natural ability or power that a person is born with.
Like a talent you are born with, not one you learn.
Curiosity seems to be a principle present in every child.
He believed kindness was a natural principle of the human heart.
Similarfaculty, endowment

Less common meaning

10
nounobsolete
The start or beginning of something.
Doubting sad end of principle unsound.
1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneHere, principle means beginning, so a bad end from a weak start.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of principle apart? Answer 4 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

It comes from Latin principium, meaning "beginning" or "foundation," from princeps, meaning "first."