- first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal: his primary goals in life.
- first in order in any series, sequence, etc.
- first in time; earliest; primitive.
- of, relating to, or characteristic of primary school: the primary grades.
- constituting or belonging to the first stage in any process.
- of the nature of the ultimate or simpler constituents of which something complex is made up: Animals have a few primary instincts.
- original; not derived or subordinate; fundamental; basic.
- (in scholarly studies) pertaining to or being a firsthand account, original data, etc., or based on direct knowledge, as in primary source; primary research.
- immediate or direct, or not involving intermediate agency: primary perceptions.
- (of social values or ideals) conceived as derived from the primary group and culturally defined as being necessary to the welfare of the individual and society.
- pertaining to any of the set of flight feathers situated on the distal segment of a bird's wing.
- noting or pertaining to the circuit, coil, winding, or current that induces current in secondary windings in an induction coil, transformer, or the like.
- Chemistry.
- involving or obtained by replacement of one atom or group.
- noting or containing a carbon atom united to no other or to only one other carbon atom in a molecule.
- Grammar.
- (of a derivative) having a root or other unanalyzable element as the underlying form: The word "dole" is a primary derivative formed by modification of "deal," and "phonograph" is a primary derivative from "phono-" and "-graph."
- (of Latin, Greek, Sanskrit tenses) having reference to present or future time.
- something that is first in order, rank, or importance.
- U.S. Politics.
- a preliminary election in which voters of each party nominate candidates for office, party officers, etc.
- a meeting of the voters of a political party in an election district for nominating candidates for office, choosing delegates for a convention, etc.; caucus.
- primary color.
- a primary feather.
- a winding in a transformer or the like that carries a current and that induces a current in secondary windings.
- Astronomy.
- a body in relation to a smaller body or smaller bodies revolving around it, as a planet in relation to its satellites.
- the brighter of the two stars comprising a double star.
- to challenge or oppose (the incumbent) in a primary election, usually for strong ideological reasons (often used in passive constructions): The congressman was primaried by a more conservative candidate.
- to run as a candidate in a primary election.
- first in importance, degree, rank, etc
- first in position or time, as in a series
- fundamental; basic
- being the first stage; elementary
- of or relating to the education of children up to the age of 11
- (of the flight feathers of a bird's wing) growing from the manus
- being the part of an electric circuit, such as a transformer or induction coil, in which a changing current induces a current in a neighbouring circuit
- (of a current) flowing in such a circuit
- (of a product) consisting of a natural raw material; unmanufactured
- (of production or industry) involving the extraction or winning of such products. Agriculture, fishing, forestry, hunting, and mining are primary industries
- chem
- (of an organic compound) having a functional group attached to a carbon atom that is attached to at least two hydrogen atoms
- (of an amine) having only one organic group attached to the nitrogen atom; containing the group NH 2
- (of a salt) derived from a tribasic acid by replacement of one acidic hydrogen atom with a metal atom or electropositive group
- linguistics
- derived from a word that is not a derivation but the ultimate form itself. Lovable is a primary derivative of love
- (of Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit tenses) referring to present or future time
- relating to magmas that have not experienced fractional crystallization or crystal contamination
- a person or thing that is first in rank, occurrence, etc
- (in the US)
- a preliminary election in which the voters of a state or region choose a party's convention delegates, nominees for office, etc
- a local meeting of voters registered with one party to nominate candidates, select convention delegates, etc
- See primary colour
- any of the flight feathers growing from the manus of a bird's wing
- a primary coil, winding, inductance, or current in an electric circuit
- a celestial body around which one or more specified secondary bodies orbit
