elementary school

American  

noun

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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of elementary school

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Parents in Quinn’s daughter’s elementary school were made aware in December of a child in her grade who had not been at school for a week.

From Salon

As law enforcement and federal agents searched for an armed man in Fullerton one morning last week, students were arriving at the elementary school just around the corner.

From Los Angeles Times

If memory serves, a 50% score in elementary school earns an F. Celebrating results that are slightly better than awful is a capitulation to the bigotry of low expectations Mr. Emanuel decries.

From The Wall Street Journal

I began acting in elementary school and then, when I was in fifth grade, my mother enrolled me at the Laurel Little Theatre.

From The Wall Street Journal

Pelley even noted their evasiveness before suggesting that their organization intentionally misrepresents outliers — such as when books intended for high school students accidentally land on elementary school shelves — to produce skewed narratives of public schools.

From Salon

Related Words

• grade school
• grammar school