Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

primary

/ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹ.i/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.88 in modern English

Syllables: pri-ma-ry
IPA: /ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹ.i/

14

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

First or earliest in a group or series.

adj

Main; principal; chief; placed ahead of others.

adj

Earliest formed; fundamental.

adj

Illustrating, possessing, or characterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement.

adj

Relating to the place where a disorder or disease started to occur.

adj

Relating to day-to-day care provided by health professionals such as nurses, general practitioners, dentists etc.

noun

A primary election; a preliminary election to select a political candidate of a political party, or the first round of a two-round election.

noun

The first year of grade school.

Example Sentences

"Children attend primary school, and teenagers attend secondary school."
"the church of Christ, in its primary institution"
", Book II, Chapter VIII These I call original, or primary, qualities of body."
"Preferred stock has primary claim on dividends, ahead of common stock."
"In recent primaries, for example, nearly 4% of absentees were rejected in Philadelphia; 8% in Kentucky; and 20% in parts of New York City."
"Before Americans pick a president in November, they get to pick the candidates in a series of primaries and caucuses. […] Biden could still win New Hampshire’s primary through a write-in campaign, but the first sanctioned Democratic contest is in South Carolina in February."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹ.i/
British English: /ˈpɹaɪ.m(ə.)ɹi/

Usage

Inflected Forms

more primary (comparative) most primary (superlative) primaries (plural) primaries (present, singular) primarying (participle, present) primaried (participle, past) primaried (past)

Derived Forms

circumprimary coprimary megaprimary nonprimary postprimary preprimary primarily primariness pseudoprimary subprimary superprimary

Phrases

pre-primary primary accent primary adrenal insufficiency primary alcohol primary amine primary amoebic meningoencephalitis primary bedroom primary care

Frequently Paired Words

first primus inter pares

Synonyms

chief main principal master elementary elemental basal primary election

Questions

How do you pronounce primary?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹ.i/.
What does primary mean?: First or earliest in a group or series.
Where does primary come from?: Borrowed from Latin prīmārius (“of the first (rank); chief, principal; excellent”), from prīmus (first; whence the English adjective prime) + -ārius (whence the English suffix -ary); compare the French primaire, primer, and premier. Doublet of premier.

How to pronounce primary

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “primary”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpɹaɪˌmɛɹ.i/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “primary”.
Repeat and practice — Say “primary” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.