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Synonyms

elementary school

American  

noun

  1. the lowest school giving formal instruction, teaching the rudiments of learning, and extending usually from six to eight years.

elementary school British  

noun

  1. a former name for primary school

  2. 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

"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

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.

As an advocate for the local library told me, by the next day, all the children at the local elementary school had heard about Gamble.

From Slate • May 4, 2026

Stress increases cortisol levels, which in turn drives cravings for quick, energy-dense foods — carbs, sugar, the kinds of things that dominate elementary school diets.

From Salon • Apr. 25, 2026

“They’re well prepared to transition into that big elementary school setting,” said Sifuentes, now director of elementary education for Chico Unified School District.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026

The day after Neukgu's disappearance, authorities received dozens of reported sightings, including some boys who cried wolf: elementary school kids who had mistaken dogs for Neukgu, the Chosun Daily reported.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

You definitely have to be when not even one of your close friends from elementary school is in this new, very large middle school.

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.