26984 words

primary

12 definitions • 15 examples
1
more important than anything else; main:

Examples:

The Red Cross's primary concern is to preserve and protect human life.
The primary responsibility lies with those who break the law.
2
of or for the teaching of young children, especially those between five and eleven years old:

Examples:

primary education
a primary school
3
happening first:

Examples:

the primary stages of development
4
in the US, an election in which people choose who will represent a particular party in an election for political office
5
a primary in which only voters who are members of a political party can vote for the candidates from that party in order to choose who will represent the party in a later election:

Examples:

They won't give up on their demand for a closed primary election.
6
a primary in which everyone who is allowed to vote can choose either party's ballot (= list of candidates) in order to vote for a candidate to represent that party at a later election:

Examples:

In an open primary, you can vote for a candidate from either party.
7
more important than anything else; main:

Examples:

The primary goal of the space flight was to recover a satellite.
8
relating to the first part of a child’s education:

Examples:

the primary grades
9
happening first:

Examples:

the primary stages of development
10
an election in which people who belong to a political party choose who will represent that party in an election for political office
11
more important than anything else:

Examples:

primary concern/consideration/focus When oil prices started to rise sharply, the primary concern of financial markets was the possibility of inflation.
Newspapers have been the primary source of news for many people for many years.
The CEO has primary responsibility for making day-to-day investment decisions for each fund.
12
used to describe shares, bonds, etc. at the time they are first made available, rather than when they are traded later:

Examples:

A combination of factors point to a rise in primary trading that will provide lucrative opportunities for new bond dealers.

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