principal source

collocation in English

meaningsofprincipalandsource

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withsource.
principal
adjective[before noun]
uk
/ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/
us
/ˈprɪn.sə.pəl/
first in order ...
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source
noun[C]
uk
/sɔːs/
us
/sɔːrs/
the place something comes from or starts at, or the cause ...
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(Definition ofprincipalandsourcefrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesofprincipal source

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
These results question the assumption that mangrove detritus is always theprincipalsourceof energy to estuarine consumers.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These crops have long served as theprincipalsourceof food and nutrition for many of the world's poorest and undernourished households.
From theCambridge English Corpus
We must recognise that 'the lifeworld of different groups and communities is not theprincipalsourceof global law'.
From theCambridge English Corpus
In the intensive care unit, theprincipalsourceof infection is through penetrating lines and catheters.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Sometimes this image corresponded to reality, yet at the same time the rulers were themselves theprincipalsourceof insecurity.
From theCambridge English Corpus
This finding agrees with those investigators who refer to agave as theprincipalsourceof fiber for textiles as well as cordage.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Anotherprincipalsourceof interest has centred on the development of hormone therapy, particularly in the last three decades.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Supplements to income tax became theprincipalsourceof local taxation, whereas taxation on property was the most important direct tax at a local level.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Theprincipalsourcefor what follows here is simply his last will and testament.
From theCambridge English Corpus
But this is not theprincipalsourceof my unease.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Firstly, theprincipalsourceof uncertainty is instrumental drift.
From theCambridge English Corpus
However, it also suggests that by the 1930s, rural production could no longer be considered theprincipalsourceof income for the socioeconomic elite.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These data are dramatic but provide only partial support for the commission's conclusion that litigation was theprincipalsourceof stool debts.
From theCambridge English Corpus
This is desirable because capital flows are theprincipalsourceof instability in the currency.
From theCambridge English Corpus
The discipline of ethnography is theprincipalsourceof data for cultural anthropology.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These valves constitute aprincipalsourceof phonological contrast, with an influence on how oral articulatory events are characterised.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Language acquired early in life, prior to the age when reading is theprincipalsourceof new vocabulary, is acquired via the auditory modality.
From theCambridge English Corpus
Theprincipalsourceof uncertainty in the four countries is the variability of the return to lifetime savings.
From theCambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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