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.
On 21 October 1966, as a primary school and surrounding homes in Aberfan were engulfed by slurry from a collapsed coal tip, a dinner lady was collecting money from pupils.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
At the time of her arrest she had 15 children aged under 12, 10 children under primary school age, and two children under the age of one in her care.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Emma, from Kirklees, has grandchildren in Years 1, 2 and 4 and thinks primary school is too young to be introducing careers talks.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
"In primary school, there is too much trying to get little kids to grow up too quickly," she says.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
For the rest of my primary school years I seldom, if ever, cut school for any reason.
From "Kaffir Boy: An Autobiography" by Mark Mathabane
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
