primary election

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noun

primary (def. 15a).

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Origin of primary election

First recorded in 1785–95

Words nearby primary election

primary colour, primary consumer, primary contact, primary deviance, primary effect, primary election, primary gain, primary group, primary growth, primary industry, primarying

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use primary election in a sentence

On June 2 — the day of the primary election in Washington — law enforcement officers appeared on every corner, heavily armed in fatigues and body armor.
Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready.|by Logan Jaffe, Lydia DePillis, Isaac Arnsdorf and J. David McSwane|January 7, 2021|ProPublica
Strategic discrimination typically occurs prior to a primary election.
How ‘Strategic’ Bias Keeps Americans From Voting For Women And Candidates Of Color|LGBTQ-Editor|October 29, 2020|No Straight News
First, during the primary election, candidates face off in their home districts, which only cover a small part of the city.
The Ultimate Guide to the Local Election|Voice of San Diego|October 19, 2020|Voice of San Diego
In short, we did not find a spike in the mortality rate associated with the primary elections.
Voting In The 2020 Primaries Didn’t Worsen The COVID-19 Pandemic|Eric Feltham (eric.feltham@yale.edu)|October 15, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

The strangers became fast friends as they greeted voters and processed ballots for the partisan primary election.
Wisconsin election officials go from famine to feast with a swell of poll workers|Dan Simmons|October 8, 2020|Washington Post
Scruff believes that sex is not the primary concern of users.
Grindr’s Trans Dating Problem|David Levesley|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Bush busy engaging constituents on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate ahead of the 2004 presidential election.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Just 47 percent of Asian-Americans voted in the 2012 presidential election.
Asian-Americans Are The New Florida|Tim Mak|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He has picked pre-primary brawls with Christie, Perry, and Marco Rubio.
Rand Paul’s Passive-Aggressive Trolling Campaign|Olivia Nuzzi|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“You try to always scratch where the itch is,” Huckabee said about his campaigning and rhetoric in the 2008 primary.
Why This Liberal Hearts Huckabee|Sally Kohn|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Besides this fundamental or primary vibration, the movement divides itself into segments, or sections, of the entire length.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
What the ear hears is the fundamental pitch only; the overtones harmonize with the primary or fundamental tone, and enrich it.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
Election of representatives from New York to consider the federal constitution held.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
That—and no existing institution and no current issue—is the primary concern of the present age.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The Colonel left, and in a few days the election coming off, each candidate made his appearance at the critical German polls.
The Book of Anecdotes and Budget of Fun;|Various

British Dictionary definitions for primary election

primary election

noun

See primary (def. 13)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012