prime minister

/ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/

//ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)// noun

"prime-minister" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prime minister” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
14
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The chief member of the cabinet and head of the government, especially in a parliamentary democracy; often the leader of the majority party.

Key facts for prime minister
PropertyValue
Headwordprime minister
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/
Letters14
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prime minister” sits in English frequency

prime minister falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

prime minister is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The chief member of the cabinet and head of the government, especially in a parliamentary democracy; often the leader of the majority party.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for prime minister, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: Calque of French premier ministre. The correct English form is prime minister, spelled P-R-I-M-E- -M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    The chief member of the cabinet and head of the government, especially in a parliamentary democracy; often the leader of the majority party.

Etymology

Calque of French premier ministre.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prime minister"?
"prime minister" is spelled P-R-I-M-E- -M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/.
What does "prime minister" mean?
As a noun, "prime minister" means: The chief member of the cabinet and head of the government, especially in a parliamentary democracy; often the leader of the majority party.
How do you pronounce "prime minister"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prime minister" is /ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prime minister"?
Calque of French premier ministre. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “prime minister”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is P-R-I-M-E- -M-I-N-I-S-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˌpɹaɪ(m)ˈmɪnɪstə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list