elementary school
Americannoun
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elementary schools
plural
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 first occupied a roped-off parking lot beside an elementary school.
From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026
Osterberg courted Britain's middle and upper classes for her college, deciding most elementary school girls were "absolutely unfit to be trained... their muscles have been starved from babyhood".
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 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
“Good evening, everyone,” Bass began over jeers, in the tone of an elementary school teacher who knows her students are going to act extra.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Most of the kids in sixth grade have friends from elementary school, but I don’t think Sara does.
From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan
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.
