primaries

Cultural

State elections of delegates to the nominating convention that chooses a major party's presidential candidate. In some states, delegates are elected by popular vote; in other states, party caucus es or miniconventions choose delegates.

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Primaries occur at different times during the presidential election year, a situation that drags out the process by which parties nominate candidates but allows wide public exposure to candidates and issues.

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.

Participation in the South Carolina primaries was lower still.

From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026

California has "jungle primaries" meaning the top two candidates for governor and for LA mayor advance from the primary stage, regardless of party affiliation.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

Alabama is set to hold special congressional primaries in August.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

More than 129,000 vote-by-mail ballots had been returned by the end of the day Monday, more than had been returned by the same time in the 2024 and 2022 primaries.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

I noticed a man and a woman chatting with Mary Fernandez and some Lopez Cottage primaries.

From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023