Primary

Quick meaning: Primary is an adjective meaning First or earliest in a group or series.

Meaning

First or earliest in a group or series.

More Meanings

1. Main; principal; chief; placed ahead of others.
2. (geology) Earliest formed; fundamental.
3. (medicine) Relating to the place where a disorder or disease started to occur.
4. (medicine) Relating to day-to-day care provided by health professionals such as nurses, general practitioners, dentists etc.
5. The first year of grade school.
6. (chemistry) Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.
7. (political science) A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party, or the first round of a two-round election.

Example Sentences

the church of Christ, in its primary institution

Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school.

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

, Book II, Chapter VIII These I call original, or primary, qualities of body.

Word Forms

• primaries
• primarying
• primaried

Synonyms for primary

Depending on context, synonyms include essential, direct, primitive, particular, simple, original.

Antonyms for primary

Common opposites include secondary.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include principal, original, main, important, elementary, basic.

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