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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.

Nearly 400 officers responded to Robb Elementary school but it took 77 minutes after the first officers arrived for police to confront and kill the shooter, according to a 2024 federal report.

From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026

Elementary school friends Olivia Wasilewski and Brynna Siewers got their game, Ship of Treasures, licensed and later sold in Target after winning an award at the fair in 2016.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

Elementary school classrooms are overflowing as teachers accommodate six or seven new students each, in the middle of the school year, raising average classroom sizes.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2024

Or Jenny Jones, a landscape architect at Terremoto, who mentioned a “profoundly beautiful” mulberry in the Elysian Heights Elementary school garden.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 29, 2024

Elementary school goes through sixth grade here, so this is our first year in middle school, and even though we’re already halfway through the school year, I still haven’t figured out the point of homeroom.

From "The Benefits of Being an Octopus" by Ann Braden

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.