adj

primary

PREYE-mree

adj

Most important; main.

"Her primary concern was her children's safety."

"The primary cause of the delay was bad weather."

First in a sequence or order; earliest.

"Primary education typically begins around age five."

noun

An election held to choose a party's candidate before the main election.

"He lost the primary to a younger challenger."

How to Use Primary

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishThe main or most important one, or (in politics) the vote that picks a party's candidate.

Common pairings

primary concern primary school win the primary primary source

more primary comparative, primaried past tense, primaries plural, primaries singular, most primary superlative

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Her _____ concern was her children's safety.

From Latin prīmārius, "of the first rank, chief," from prīmus ("first").

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