elementary school
Americannoun
noun
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a former name for primary school
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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 local elementary school has noticeably fewer kids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
In New York, some parents say a bill backed by the statewide teachers union requiring up to 30 minutes of daily, unstructured recess time in elementary school doesn’t go far enough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
By her own account, the 85-year-old, originally from New York, "flunked" every art class she ever took, from elementary school to high school.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Coldplay will feature in a collaboration with PS22 Chorus, an acclaimed choir of students from a New York public elementary school.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
As his father filled out the registration paperwork in the school office, Fadi gazed out the window at the students filing into the adjacent elementary school.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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.
