PRIMARY | English Meaning, Definition, and Pronunciation

late Middle English (in the sense ‘original, not derivative’): from Latin primarius, from primus ‘first’. The noun uses date from the 18th century

of chief importance; principal

principal

• the government's primary aim is to see significant reductions in unemployment

earliest in time or order

earliest

• the primary stage of their political education

not derived from, caused by, or based on anything else; original

not caused by or based on anything else

• his expert handling of the primary and secondary literature is clear on every page

(of an organic compound) having its functional group located on a carbon atom which is bonded to no more than one other carbon atom

relating to organic compound

• a primary alcohol

denoting or relating to organisms that produce organic compounds from simple substances such as water and carbon dioxide, typically by photosynthesis

denoting organisms that produce organic compounds from simple substances

• the organic matter is formed by primary producers such as plants and plankton
• there is a risk of famine in areas with low primary production from plants

relating to or denoting the input side of a transformer or other inductive device.

relating to input side of transformer

Palaeozoic

(in the US) a preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal, especially presidential, election

preliminary election

• these two Republicans should win their primaries easily

a primary colour.

primary colour

the Palaeozoic era.

Palaeozoic era

(in the US) run against (the current holder of a political office) in the preliminary election a party uses to select its candidate for the main election

run as opponent of incumbent in preliminary election

• I'm not primarying the president, and no one else should either unless we want to lose the White House