primary sources is not in our dictionary (yet). Here's what it could mean:
Confidence: high
Results generated using artificial intelligence.
noun
- An original document, artifact, or first-hand account created at the time of an event or by someone who directly experienced it, used as direct evidence in research.
- The raw data, original research, or foundational material used in a scholarly or journalistic analysis, as opposed to interpretations of that material.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Frank Dikötter is an iconoclast historian who immerses himself in the primary sources more thoroughly than any other Western scholar of 20th-century China.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
The primary sources of expense growth stem from Meta’s AI data-center buildout, and higher research-and-development costs following a wave of top-dollar AI hirings.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
Thesaurus
Possible Synonyms
- eyewitness testimony
- field notes
- original documents
- contemporaneous records
- from the horse's mouth
Possible Antonyms
Words in our thesaurus
other words
- textbook summaries
- secondary sources
- literature review
- scholarly critiques
