primary school

American  

noun

primary schools plural

1. a school usually covering the first three or four years of elementary school and sometimes kindergarten.

2. elementary school.

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primary school British  

noun

1. (in Britain) a school for children below the age of 11. It is usually divided into an infant and a junior section

2. (in the US and Canada) a school equivalent to the first three or four grades of elementary school, sometimes including a kindergarten

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• primary schools
  plural

Etymology

Origin of primary school

First recorded in 1795–1805

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

primary school

Josie wants to help save the primary school where she has many "happy memories"

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

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

Jessica Featonby, who left her job as a primary school teacher to found an education technology company, said higher salaries would get more people into teaching but the "core problem" was "wellbeing".

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Ifemelu imagined him growing up, riding his bicycle down the sloping street, returning home from primary school with his bag and water bottle.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• grade school
• grammar school