primary school
Americannoun
-
primary schools
plural
-
a school usually covering the first three or four years of elementary school and sometimes kindergarten.
noun
-
(in Britain) a school for children below the age of 11. It is usually divided into an infant and a junior section
-
(in the US and Canada) a school equivalent to the first three or four grades of elementary school, sometimes including a kindergarten
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of primary school
First recorded in 1795–1805
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.
My fear started in primary school when I had compulsory swimming lessons.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Pablo: Next Level, a spin-off from the pre-school series Pablo, features an autistic lead character and this time he's heading to primary school.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
The crumbling girls' primary school which he gave me a tour of upsets him because the 62-year-old studied here from 1968 to 1973.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Unitree's IPO is a "primary school graduation ceremony" moment for China's humanoid robotics industry, said Tianyu Zang, partner at Beijing-based venture capital firm Jinqiu Capital, which took part in Unitree's funding round last year.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
It was a primary school before the war.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
