What does "primary" mean?
A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party, or the first round of a two-round election.
Primary
/ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party, or the first round of a two-round election.
- Grammar: primary is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ab ovo, abecedarian, aboriginal, all-absorbing.
- Useful contrasts: background, additional, additional datasets.
- Usage evidence: The primary aim of science is to find truth, new truth.
How to use "primary"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "primary" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "primary" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "primary" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "primary" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "primary" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ab ovo" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "primary", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party, or the first round of a two-round election.
"In recent primaries, for example, nearly 4% of absentees were rejected in Philadelphia; 8% in Kentucky; and 20% in parts of New York City."
- 2 a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are chosen wordnet
- 3 The first year of grade school.
- 4 one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer edge of a bird's wing wordnet
- 5 A base or fundamental component; something that is irreducible.
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring circuit wordnet
- 7 The most massive component of a gravitationally bound system, such as a planet in relation to its satellites.
- 8 (astronomy) a celestial body (especially a star) relative to other objects in orbit around it wordnet
- 9 A primary school.
"Excellence in Cities offers a further development of this approach, whereby secondary schools operate with small clusters of primaries as mini-EAZs."
- 10 Any flight feather attached to the manus (hand) of a bird.
"`Good Lord, look at that swiftlet, it's got two primaries missing from its left wing!'"
- 11 A primary colour.
"By adding and subtracting the three primaries, cyan, yellow, and magenta are produced. These are called subtractive primaries."
- 12 The first stage of a thermonuclear weapon, which sets off a fission explosion to help trigger a fusion reaction in the weapon's secondary stage.
- 13 A radar return from an aircraft (or other object) produced solely by the reflection of the radar beam from the aircraft's skin, without additional information from the aircraft's transponder.
- 14 The primary site of a disease; the original location or source of the disease.
"unknown primary"
- 15 A directly driven inductive coil, as in a transformer or induction motor that is magnetically coupled to a secondary.
Verb
- 1 To challenge (an incumbent sitting politician) for their political party's nomination to run for re-election, through running a challenger campaign in a primary election, especially one that is more ideologically extreme. US, intransitive, transitive
"In the New England town where he ran a “couple of night clubs” . he was “primarying the mayor.""
- 2 To take part in a primary election. US, intransitive, transitive
"Both were worried that Bailey would break some of their delegate commitments to keep them from primarying."
Adjective
- 1 First or earliest in a group or series.
"Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school."
- 2 Main; principal; chief; placed ahead of others.
"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.
- 5 Relating to the place where a disorder or disease started to occur.
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Relating to day-to-day care provided by health professionals such as nurses, general practitioners, dentists etc.
Adjective
- 1 not derived from or reducible to something else; basic wordnet
- 2 most important element wordnet
- 3 of first rank or importance or value; direct and immediate rather than secondary wordnet
- 4 of or being the essential or basic part wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The primary aim of science is to find truth, new truth."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "primary"?
Common synonyms include: ab ovo, abecedarian, aboriginal, all-absorbing, alpha, antenatal.
How do you use "primary" in a sentence?
The primary aim of science is to find truth, new truth.
How do you pronounce "primary"?
Pronounced /ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹi/.
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.