school headmaster

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The teacher who is in charge of a whole school and its staff.

   Grammar: Countable: say 'a school headmaster' or 'the school headmaster'; the plural is 'school headmasters'.

   Patterns

   • the school headmaster
   • a school headmaster at a school
   • school headmaster of a school

   The school headmaster greeted every new pupil at the gate on the first morning.

   After ten years as a teacher, she became the school headmaster of a small town school.

   Parents wrote to the school headmaster to ask for a later start to the day.

2. 2nounsingularBritish

   A title used when speaking to or about the man in charge of a particular school.

   Grammar: Often used with a capital letter as a title before a name: 'School Headmaster Mr Ali'.

   Patterns

   • School Headmaster + name
   • the School Headmaster

   School Headmaster Mr Okafor spoke about the new library at the ceremony.

   The letter began, 'Dear School Headmaster, I am writing about the science club.'

Word forms

Common combinations

appoint a school headmaster

The governors will appoint a school headmaster before September.

a strict school headmaster

He had a reputation as a strict school headmaster who expected neat uniforms.

the school headmaster's office

I was sent to the school headmaster's office for being late three times.

become a school headmaster

She hopes to become a school headmaster within five years.

the deputy school headmaster

The deputy school headmaster ran the assembly while the head was away.

Synonyms and how they differ

head teacher

The neutral British term for the same job; it does not say whether the person is a man or a woman.

principal

The usual American word for the leader of a school, used for both men and women.

head

A short informal British word for the same role, common in speech: 'the head wants to see you'.

Word family

headship noun

The position or job of being in charge of a school.

headmasterly adjective

Behaving in the serious, controlling way people associate with a headmaster.

Commonly confused: school headmaster or headmistress?

Practice

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