direct primary

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noun U.S. Politics.

a primary in which members of a party nominate its candidates by direct vote.

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Compare indirect primary.

Origin of direct primary

First recorded in 1895–1900

Words nearby direct primary

director's chair, director's cut, directory, Directory Assistance, direct positive, direct primary, direct product, direct question, direct-reading, directress, directrix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use direct primary in a sentence

In the past several years, dispensing has also become popular among physicians in the direct primary care movement—a fast-growing clinical model that aims to offer low-cost care without involving insurance companies.
What happens when your doctor and pharmacist are the same person|Michael Schulson/Undark|October 18, 2021|Popular-Science
Scruff believes that sex is not the primary concern of users.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He has picked pre-primary brawls with Christie, Perry, and Marco Rubio.
Rand Paul’s Passive-Aggressive Trolling Campaign|Olivia Nuzzi|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“You try to always scratch where the itch is,” Huckabee said about his campaigning and rhetoric in the 2008 primary.
Why This Liberal Hearts Huckabee|Sally Kohn|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST

In 2009, Lee Daniels announced that he would direct Selma and that Liam Neeson would play President Lyndon Johnson.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’|Gary May|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Even then, most of us doubted he would show up and actually sign the papers allowing him to enter the 1992 New Hampshire primary.
President Cuomo Would’ve Been a Lion|Jonathan Alter|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Each religion claims that its own Bible is the direct revelation of God, and is the only true Bible teaching the only true faith.
God and my Neighbour|Robert Blatchford
Besides this fundamental or primary vibration, the movement divides itself into segments, or sections, of the entire length.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
What the ear hears is the fundamental pitch only; the overtones harmonize with the primary or fundamental tone, and enrich it.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The steamboat of 1809 and the steam locomotive of 1830 were the direct result of what had gone before.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
That—and no existing institution and no current issue—is the primary concern of the present age.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

British Dictionary definitions for direct primary

direct primary

noun

US government a primary in which voters directly select the candidates who will run for office

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

Cultural definitions for direct primary

direct primary

An election in which voters choose candidates to run on a party's ticket in a subsequent election for public office.