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.
Inside were my elementary school report cards, two programs from concerts I played as a percussionist with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and other assorted evidence of a childhood.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Two weeks into his brother’s trial, Collins was in class when their sister Chloe picked him up at the elementary school and took him to their grandmother’s house.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
“This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg on what parents have emailed teachers about,” said Gina Wynn, a health and wellness influencer who taught elementary school for 14 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Stacey Zavala, a Los Angeles elementary school teacher, was in her classroom teaching on Sept. 11, 2001.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
In elementary school, Bernard would just step right in front of the first person in line for the rings like he was a big deal—which I guess he was—and no one would say a word.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
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.
