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¹primary

adjective pri·ma·ry \ˈprī-ˌmer-ē, ˈprī-mə-rē, ˈprīm-rē\

: most important

: most basic or essential

: happening or coming first

Full Definition of PRIMARY

: first in order of time or development : primitive <the primary stage of civilization> <the primary lesion of a disease>

a : of first rank, importance, or value : principal <the primary purpose>

b : basic, fundamental <security is a primary need>

c : of, relating to, or constituting the principal quills of a bird's wing

d : of or relating to agriculture, forestry, and the extractive industries or their products

e : expressive of present or future time <primary tense>

f : of, relating to, or constituting the strongest of the three or four degrees of stress recognized by most linguists <the first syllable of basketball carries primary stress>

a : direct, firsthand <primary sources of information>

b : not derivable from other colors, odors, or tastes

c : preparatory to something else in a continuing process <primary instruction>

d : of or relating to a primary school <primary education>

e : of or relating to a primary election <a primary candidate>

f : belonging to the first group or order in successive divisions, combinations, or ramifications <primary nerves>

g : directly derived from ores <primary metals>

h : of, relating to, or being the amino acid sequence in proteins <primary protein structure>

: resulting from the substitution of one of two or more atoms or groups in a molecule <a primary amine>; especially : being or characterized by a carbon atom having a bond to only one other carbon atom

: of, relating to, involving, or derived from primary meristem <primary tissue> <primary growth>

: of, relating to, or involved in the production of organic substances by green plants <primary productivity>

: providing primary care <a primary physician>

See primary defined for English-language learners

See primary defined for kids

Origin of PRIMARY

Middle English, from Late Latin primarius basic, primary, from Latin, principal, from primus

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to PRIMARY

Synonyms: arch, big, capital, cardinal, central, chief, dominant, first, grand, great, greatest, highest, key, leading, main, master, number one (also No. 1), numero uno, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, paramount, predominant, preeminent, premier, primal, foremost, principal, prior, sovereign (also sovran), supreme

Antonyms: last, least

Rhymes with PRIMARY

baneberry, barberry, bayberry, bearberry, bilberry, blackberry, black cherry, blaeberry, blueberry, Bradbury, bunchberry, Burberry, canary, chokeberry, chokecherry, cloudberry, contrary, costmary, cowberry, cranberry, crowberry, deerberry, equerry, gooseberry, ground-cherry, hackberry, Hail Mary, inkberry, Juneberry, knobkerrie, library, mulberry, nondairy, pokeberry, raspberry, rosemary, scalare, shadberry, snowberry, soapberry, strawberry, summary, sweet cherry, teaberry, tilbury, tooth fairy, twinberry, unwary, vagary, wheat berry, wolfberry, youngberry

²primary

noun

: an election in which members of the same political party run against each other for the chance to be in a larger and more important election

plural -ries

Full Definition of PRIMARY

: something that stands first in rank, importance, or value : fundamental —usually used in plural

: the celestial body around which one or more other celestial bodies revolve; especially : the more massive usually brighter component of a binary star system

: one of the usually 9 or 10 strong quills on the distal joint of a bird's wing — see wing illustration

a : primary color

b : the sensation of seeing primary colors

a : caucus

b : an election in which qualified voters nominate or express a preference for a particular candidate or group of candidates for political office, choose party officials, or select delegates for a party convention

: the coil that is connected to the source of electricity in an induction coil or transformer —called also primary coil

See primary defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of PRIMARY

1656

PRIMARY Defined for Kids

¹primary

adjective pri·ma·ry \ˈprī-ˌmer-ē, -mə-rē\

Definition of PRIMARY for Kids

: first in time or development <the primary grades>

: most important : main <primary duties>

: not made or coming from something else : basic <the primary source of information>

: relating to or being the heaviest of three levels of stress in pronunciation

Word Root of PRIMARY

The Latin word primus, meaning “first,” gives us the root prim. Words from the Latin primus have something to do with being first. Anything primary comes first in importance or order. Anything primeval belongs to a period of time that came first, before the present. Anything primitive also belongs to an earlier time.