headmaster

1 of 2

noun (1)

head·​mas·​ter ˈhed-ˌma-stər 

-ˈma-

: a man heading the staff of a private school : principal

headmasterly

ˈhed-ˌma-stər-lē 

-ˈma-

adjective

headmastership

ˈhed-ˌma-stər-ˌship 

-ˈma-

noun

headmastership

2 of 2

noun (2)

head·​mas·​ter·​ship -ˌship 

: the post of a headmaster

Examples of headmaster in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

In 1981, Luwi was sitting in class when the headmaster of his school called his name on a megaphone. — Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026

Other cast members include John Lithgow, who plays Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore, Janet McTeer, who is Professor McGonagall, Paapa Essiedu plays Snape, Bel Powley is Aunt Petunia, and Nick Frost has been cast as Rubeus Hagrid. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 14 Aug. 2026

There, the producers were running the show and Andy was kind of like the kindly headmaster, but none of that was there now. — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 28 July 2026

She was cast as Athena, the class ‘troublemaker’ was Odysseus, and the school’s headmaster bumbled around, one-eyed, as the Cyclops. — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 17 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1576, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1715, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for headmaster

• bandmaster
• broadcaster
• cadastre
• disaster
• forecaster
• grandmaster
• newscaster
• paymaster
• pilaster
• postmaster
• roadmaster
• schoolmaster

Kids Definition

headmaster

noun

head·​mas·​ter -ˌmas-tər 

-ˈmas-

: a male head of a private school