primary

CEFRB1

/ˈpɹaɪ.m(ə.)ɹi/

adjective · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Most important or first in order.

  2. 02

    noun

    A first election used to choose a political candidate.

Examples

  • It would be very convenient if English were to become everybody's primary language.

  • Our primary objective is reducing road casualties.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈpɹɑe.m(ə.)ɹiː/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Earliest formed; fundamental.

  2. Main; principal; chief; placed ahead of others.

  3. First or earliest in a group or series.

More examples

In context

  • The primary aim of science is to find truth, new truth.

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

  • Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank objective of the mission is to gather data on Mars.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.