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Showing results for elementary school. Search instead for Seminary+Schools.
Synonyms

elementary school

American  

noun

  1. the lowest school giving formal instruction, teaching the rudiments of learning, and extending usually from six to eight years.


elementary school British  

noun

  1. a former name for primary school

  2. Also called (in the US): grade school.   grammar school.  a state school in which instruction is given for the first six to eight years of a child's education

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of elementary school

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The Iran World Cup team arrived in Tijuana wearing lapel pins on their jackets acknowledging victims of a Feb. 28 missile strike on an elementary school.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

Basically, I was one of the few children with sight in that elementary school.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026

In that bitter January darkness of a Manchester elementary school parking lot, several dozen voters clustered in line beside me to get into the gym just as the polls opened.

From Slate • May 26, 2026

Cynthia Kuo, a 29-year-old elementary school teacher, said Trump was the "kind of person who just says whatever pops into his head."

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

They run wild, tumble, and fight, like elementary school kids with a substitute recess teacher.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

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