Dictionary

Explore meaning, context, and usage with an online dictionary experience optimized for multilingual workflows.

Clear

Try these words

Meaning of primary

Source language: EnglishDictionary language: English

primary

Pronunciation:/ˈpɹɒeməɹi//ˈpɹaɪməɹi//ˈpɹaɪməɹi/

noun

Definitions

  1. A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party.

  2. The first year of grade school.

  3. A base or fundamental component; something that is irreducible.

  4. The most massive component of a gravitationally bound system, such as a planet in relation to its satellites.

verb

Definitions

  1. To challenge (an incumbent sitting politician) for their political party's endorsement to run for re-election, through running a challenger campaign in a primary election, especially one that is more ideologically extreme.

  2. To take part in a primary election.

adjective

Definitions

  1. First or earliest in a group or series.

    Example: Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school.

  2. Main; principal; chief; placed ahead of others.

    Example: Preferred stock has primary claim on dividends, ahead of common stock.

  3. Earliest formed; fundamental.

  4. Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.