primary school
Americannoun
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a school usually covering the first three or four years of elementary school and sometimes kindergarten.
noun
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(in Britain) a school for children below the age of 11. It is usually divided into an infant and a junior section
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(in the US and Canada) a school equivalent to the first three or four grades of elementary school, sometimes including a kindergarten
Etymology
Origin of primary school
First recorded in 1795–1805
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.
He told the BBC he was both overwhelmed and comforted by the massive police presence when he arrived at the centre, San Diego County's second largest mosque, which also houses a primary school.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
Following an uncomplicated pregnancy, primary school teacher Lauryn and her husband Andrew, a carpenter, say they "didn't have too much of a plan" beyond an expected vaginal delivery at Luton and Dunstable Hospital.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
A couple of decades later, the city builds a primary school next door.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
For most of his childhood, growing up as the only Sikh kid at his primary school in Los Angeles, that bracelet stayed hidden.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026
During “weeding combat,” which occurred between June and August, primary school students worked from four in the morning until dusk pulling weeds in corn, bean, and sorghum fields.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
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.
