headmaster

noun

head·​mas·​ter ˈhed-ˌma-stər How to pronounce headmaster (audio)
-ˈma-
: a man heading the staff of a private school : principal
headmasterly adjective
headmastership noun

Examples of headmaster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The head boy witnessed these nightly beatings while standing in the shadows behind the headmaster, his job to record on the school list who had been beaten, for what, on which day, and how many times. Erin Hill, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024 By the time my parents left, I had been kicked out of school in Lyme Regis (wild and undisciplined, the headmaster said) and sent to finish preparing for my A-level exams in the nearby city of Exeter. Jon Lee Anderson, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 The tool has helped faculty reduce time spent on administrative tasks, the headmaster said. Fox News, 17 Feb. 2024 Harry Potter actor Sir Michael Gambon, who portrayed the beloved Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in multiple films from the franchise, has died at 82. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 28 Sep. 2023 Navigating the tightrope between past and present is Simon Henderson, who eight years ago became, at 39, the youngest headmaster in the school’s history. Emma Bubola, New York Times, 6 July 2023 His college applications were rejected, but the headmaster exerted influence at his own alma mater, Trinity College, and Carlson was admitted. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024 The narrator is Khaled Abd al Hady, the son of a beloved Benghazi headmaster, who comes to the U.K. to study literature at the age of 17. Sam Sacks, WSJ, 5 Jan. 2024 Gambon assumed the role of Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the third film in the series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), after the death of Richard Harris in 2002. Conor Murray, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023

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

Word History

First Known Use

1576, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of headmaster was in 1576

Dictionary Entries Near headmaster

Cite this Entry

“Headmaster.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/headmaster. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

headmaster

noun
head·​mas·​ter -ˌmas-tər How to pronounce headmaster (audio)
-ˈmas-
: a male head of a private school
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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