primary

UK: /ˈpraɪməri/ US: /ˈpraɪmɛri, -məri/ ,(prī′mer ē, -mə rē)

Inflections of 'primary' (n): npl: primaries

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

pri•ma•ry /ˈpraɪmɛri, -məri/   adj., n., pl. -ries. 
adj. 

1. first in rank or importance;
   chief:
   one's primary goal in life.
2. [before a noun] first in order in any series, etc.;
   first in time;
   earliest.
3. of or relating to a primary school:
   [before a noun] the primary grades.
4. being of the simplest or most basic order of its or their kind:
   [before a noun] a primary constituent in a sentence.

n. [countable]

5. something first in order or importance.
6. Government a preliminary election in which voters of each political party nominate candidates for office, etc., who then run for office in another, larger election:
   After a hard-fought primary, he lost the general election.

See -prim-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

pri•ma•ry  (prī′mer ē, -mə rē), adj., n., pl. -ries. 
adj. 

1. first or highest in rank or importance;
   chief;
   principal:
   his primary goals in life.
2. first in order in any series, sequence, etc.
3. first in time;
   earliest;
   primitive.
4. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of primary school:
   the primary grades.
5. constituting or belonging to the first stage in any process.
6. of the nature of the ultimate or simpler constituents of which something complex is made up:
   Animals have a few primary instincts.
7. original;
   not derived or subordinate;
   fundamental;
   basic.
8. immediate or direct, or not involving intermediate agency:
   primary perceptions.
9. Sociology (of social values or ideals) conceived as derived from the primary group and culturally defined as being necessary to the welfare of the individual and society.
10. Birds [Ornith.] pertaining to any of the set of flight feathers situated on the distal segment of a bird's wing.
11. Electricity noting or pertaining to the circuit, coil, winding, or current that induces current in secondary windings in an induction coil, transformer, or the like.
12. Chemistry
    • involving or obtained by replacement of one atom or group.
    • noting or containing a carbon atom united to no other or to only one other carbon atom in a molecule.
13. Grammar
    • (of a derivative) having a root or other unanalyzable element as the underlying form.
    • (of Latin, Greek, Sanskrit tenses) having reference to present or future time. Cf. secondary (def. 9).

n. 

14. something that is first in order, rank, or importance.
15. Government [U.S. Politics.]
    • Also called primary election. a preliminary election in which voters of each party nominate candidates for office, party officers, etc. Cf. closed primary, direct primary, indirect primary, open primary. 
    • a meeting of the voters of a political party in an election district for nominating candidates for office, choosing delegates for a convention, etc.;
      caucus.
16. Optics See primary color. 
17. Birds [Ornith.] a primary feather.
18. Electricity a winding in a transformer or the like that carries a current and that induces a current in secondary windings.
19. Astronomy
    • a body in relation to a smaller body or smaller bodies revolving around it, as a planet in relation to its satellites.
    • the brighter of the two stars comprising a double star. Cf. companion ¹ (def. 6).

• Latin prīmārius of the first rank. See prime, -ary
• late Middle English (adjective, adjectival) 1425–75

pri′ma•ri•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. main, prime.
• 3. original; primeval.
• 5. beginning, opening. See elementary. 

Antonyms

• 1, 2. last.
• 2. final.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

primary / ˈpraɪmərɪ/ adjective

1. first in importance, degree, rank, etc
2. first in position or time, as in a series
3. fundamental; basic
4. being the first stage; elementary
5. (prenominal) of or relating to the education of children up to the age of 11
6. (of the flight feathers of a bird's wing) growing from the manus
7. being the part of an electric circuit, such as a transformer or induction coil, in which a changing current induces a current in a neighbouring circuit: a primary coil
8. (of a current) flowing in such a circuit
   Compare secondary
9. (of a product) consisting of a natural raw material; unmanufactured
10. (of production or industry) involving the extraction or winning of such products. Agriculture, fishing, forestry, hunting, and mining are primary industries
    Compare tertiary3
11. (of Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit tenses) referring to present or future time
    Compare historic3
12. relating to magmas that have not experienced fractional crystallization or crystal contamination

noun ( -ries)

1. a person or thing that is first in rank, occurrence, etc
2. (in the US) a preliminary election in which the voters of a state or region choose a party's convention delegates, nominees for office, etc
   See also direct primary

Full name: primary election
3. See primary colour
4. any of the flight feathers growing from the manus of a bird's wing
5. a primary coil, winding, inductance, or current in an electric circuit
6. a celestial body around which one or more specified secondary bodies orbit: the sun is the primary of the earth

verb (-ries, -rying, -ried)

(in the US) to challenge (the holder of an elected office) in a primary election

Etymology: 15th Century: from Latin prīmārius of the first rank, principal, from prīmus first