primary school
Americannoun
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a school usually covering the first three or four years of elementary school and sometimes kindergarten.
noun
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(in Britain) a school for children below the age of 11. It is usually divided into an infant and a junior section
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(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.
Now the final year of primary school ends in grade six and there is a new intermediary stage, known as junior secondary school, for grades seven to nine, which includes more science and practical subjects.
From BBC • Jul. 4, 2026
Two coachloads of visitors arrived while AFP was visiting the village -- one of primary school children, the other of Polish tourists.
From Barron's • Jul. 3, 2026
The school received some fans, "but that doesn't actually lower the temperature in the rooms," said Gaelle Roubere, of the parents' association at the Marsoulan primary school.
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
Three-fourths of school-going children couldn’t read or understand a simple story by the end of primary school.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 17, 2026
She would teach at the primary school, her own win-the-war effort.
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.
