primary school

American  

noun

1. a school usually covering the first three or four years of elementary school and sometimes kindergarten.

2. elementary school.

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primary school British  

noun

1. (in Britain) a school for children below the age of 11. It is usually divided into an infant and a junior section

2. (in the US and Canada) a school equivalent to the first three or four grades of elementary school, sometimes including a kindergarten

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Etymology

Origin of primary school

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

The Hive was first published in 2013 and tells the story of a group of mothers at a primary school.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

"Tilly started at a mainstream primary school but she was struggling," she says.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Retired primary school teacher Linda explained: "The charity started in 1965 when some Borders farmers' wives recognised that a child living close by was in dire need."

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

Participation gaps are much smaller in countries where chess is taught in primary school, such as Mongolia, where nearly 40% of players registered with Fide are female, 35% in Sri Lanka and 30% in Uganda.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

He was small in build and didn’t look much beyond primary school age, and it filled me with pity to see him doubled over, hacking like an old man.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Related Words

• grade school
• grammar school