primary

PRY-mair-ee/ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/UKPRY-muh-ree/ˈpɹaɪməɹi/

18 meanings of primary

1
mainadjective
Most important, coming before everything else.
Like the captain of a team: the one who matters most.
Her primary goal was to keep everyone safe.
Safety is the primary concern on every job site.
Similarmain, chief, principal, key, major
Oppositesecondary, minor, subsidiary
Note
2
party electionnouncountable
An early election where a party picks its candidate, or the first round of a two-round election.
Like a tryout that decides who gets to play in the big game.
She won the primary and will be on the ballot in November.
Voters lined up early on the morning of the primary.
UsageYou run in a primary and win or lose it.
Note
3
adjective
First in time or order, often the starting point for what comes later.
Like the first chapter of a book, before all the others.
The primary stage of the project is almost done.
Most kids have all their primary teeth by age three.
UsageOften used with secondary: first primary, then secondary.
Note
4
elementary schoolnounBritishcountable
A school for young children in their first years of learning.
Like the first set of steps a child climbs in school.
Both my kids go to the same primary near our house.
He started at a small primary in the village.
UsageA short way to say primary school.
5
basic health careadjective
Having to do with the everyday health care you get from doctors, nurses, or dentists.
Like the first person you call when something small goes wrong at home.
You should see a primary care doctor before going to a specialist.
A nurse at the primary care clinic gave me my flu shot.
UsageUsually in primary care: a primary care doctor.
Note
6
base colornouncountable
One of a set of basic colors mixed to make other colors, such as red, blue, or yellow in painting.
Like building blocks you mix together to make every other color.
Red is a primary, and you can mix it with yellow to get orange.
The art teacher told us to start with just the three primaries.
UsageA short way to say primary color: the three primaries.
Note
7
adjective
Describing a disease or tumor at the place in the body where it first started.
Like finding the spot where a fire first started before it spread.
Doctors found the primary tumor in her lung.
The primary cancer started in her skin and later spread to her liver.
Oppositesecondary
Note
8
adjective
Having to do with the first years of school, for children aged about five to eleven.
My aunt teaches six-year-olds at a primary school near the park.
In the primary grades, children learn to read, write, and count.
Similarelementary
Note

Less common meanings

9
challenge (election)verbUStransitive or intransitive
To run in a primary election, especially against a member of your own party who already holds the office.
Like a teammate trying to take the captain's place before the season starts.
Local groups decided to primary the congressman after he changed his vote.
The senator was primaried by a younger rival and lost her seat.
UsageYou primary a person, and they are primaried.
Note
10
source tumornouncountable
The first spot in the body where a disease began, whether or not it has spread.
Like tracing a leak back to the one pipe where the water first escaped.
The cancer spread to her bones, but the primary was in her breast.
After a long search, doctors found the primary in his colon.
Note
11
largest body (space)nouncountable
The heaviest object in a group held together by gravity, such as a planet with its moons.
Like a big parent swinging small children in a circle: the heavy one stays at the center.
The little moon races around its primary every few hours.
Each satellite stays in orbit because the primary's gravity pulls it inward.
12
chemistryadjective
Showing a quality at its first or simplest level, or having had just one part replaced.
A primary carbon atom is bonded to just one other carbon.
The reaction produces a primary amine, with the nitrogen joined to a single carbon group.
Note
13
nounCanadauncountable
The first year of school for young children.
Like the bottom step of a staircase you climb year by year.
After one year of primary, she will move up to Grade 1.
Kids in primary learn their letters and numbers.
UsageNo a or the: in primary, start primary.
14
wing feathernouncountable
One of the long flight feathers attached to the outer part, or hand, of a bird's wing.
Like the fingers at the end of your hand, set at the far tip of the wing.
The bird spread its primaries to slow down before landing.
A single primary fell from the eagle's wing as it soared overhead.
Note
15
input coilnouncountable
The coil in a transformer or induction motor that receives power directly and transfers energy magnetically to a second coil.
Wall power connects straight to the transformer's primary.
The electrician found a broken wire in the primary of the old doorbell transformer.
Note
16
noun
A basic part that cannot be broken down into anything smaller.
17
noun
The first part of a hydrogen bomb: a smaller nuclear blast that sets off the much bigger one.
18
noun
A radar signal that bounces off a plane's surface and shows where it is, with no data sent from the plane.

Practice

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Origin

From Latin prīmārius meaning "of the first rank; chief," which comes from prīmus, meaning "first."

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

Primary comes from Latin prīmārius. en.wiktionary.org
Latin prīmārius means “of the first rank; chief.” en.wiktionary.org
Prīmārius derives from prīmus, meaning “first.” en.wiktionary.org