- chief, main, primary, principal - most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary targets"
Antonym: unimportant (indirect, via important)
- principal - the original amount of a debt on which interest is calculated
--1 is a kind of debt
--1 is a part of loan- principal, school principal, head teacher, head - the educator who has executive authority for a school; "she sent unruly pupils to see the principal"
--2 is a kind of educator, pedagogue
--2 has particulars:chancellor; headmaster, schoolmaster, master; headmistress - star, principal, lead - an actor who plays a principal role
--3 is a kind of actor, histrion, player, thespian, role player
--3 has particulars:co-star; film star, movie star; idol, matinee idol; television star, TV star - principal, corpus, principal sum - capital as contrasted with the income derived from it
--4 is a kind of capital
- principal, dealer - the major party to a financial transaction at a stock exchange; buys and sells for his own account
--5 is a kind of financier, moneyman
--5 has particulars: broker-dealer - principal, school principal, head teacher, head - the educator who has executive authority for a school; "she sent unruly pupils to see the principal"