How do you spell principal?

Principal is a noun or an adjective. Often it gets confused with principle but the meanings are not the same.

  • Principal as a noun means a person in charge (e.g. the principal of a school), someone who commits a crime, or the capital portion of a loan.
  • Principal as an adjective is a synonym for “primary” or “most important.”
  • Principle is a noun that refers to a rule or a standard that governs behavior or guides understanding (e.g., in law, science, or ethics).