<p><strong>Adjective</strong></p><ul><li>first or highest in rank or importance; chief; principal: his primary goals in life</li><li>Synonyms: prime, main</li><li>Antonyms: last</li><li>first in order in any series, sequence, etc.</li><li>Antonyms: final, last</li><li>first in time; earliest; primitive</li><li>Synonyms: primeval, original</li><li>of, relating to, or characteristic of primary school: the primary grades</li><li>constituting or belonging to the first stage in any process</li><li>Synonyms: opening, beginning</li><li>of the nature of the ultimate or simpler constituents of which something complex is made up: Animals have a few primary instincts</li><li>original; not derived or subordinate; fundamental; basic</li><li>(in scholarly studies) pertaining to or being a firsthand account, original data, etc., or based on direct knowledge, as in primary source, primary research</li><li>immediate or direct, or not involving intermediate agency: primary perceptions</li><li>Sociology: (of social values or ideals) conceived as derived from the primary group and culturally defined as being necessary to the welfare of the individual and society</li><li>Ornithology: pertaining to any of the set of flight feathers situated on the distal segment of a bird's wing</li><li>Electricity: noting or pertaining to the circuit, coil, winding, or current that induces current in secondary windings in an induction coil, transformer, or the like</li><li>Chemistry: involving or obtained by replacement of one atom or group; noting or containing a carbon atom united to no other or to only one other carbon atom in a molecule</li><li>Grammar: (of a derivative) having a root or other unanalyzable element as the underlying form: The word "dole" is a primary derivative formed by modification of "deal," and "phonograph" is a primary derivative from "phono-" and "-graph."</li><li>(of Latin, Greek, Sanskrit tenses) having reference to present or future time</li></ul><p><strong>Noun</strong></p><ul><li>plural primaries</li><li>something that is first in order, rank, or importance</li><li>U.S. Politics: Also called primary election; a preliminary election in which voters of each party nominate candidates for office, party officers, etc.</li><li>Compare: closed primary, direct primary, indirect primary, open primary</li><li>a meeting of the voters of a political party in an election district for nominating candidates for office, choosing delegates for a convention, etc.; caucus</li><li>primary color</li><li>Ornithology: a primary feather</li><li>Electricity: a winding in a transformer or the like that carries a current and that induces a current in secondary windings</li><li>Astronomy: a body in relation to a smaller body or smaller bodies revolving around it, as a planet in relation to its satellites; the brighter of the two stars comprising a double star</li></ul><p><strong>Verb</strong></p><ul><li>(used with object) U.S. Politics: to challenge or oppose (the incumbent) in a primary election, usually for strong ideological reasons (often used in passive constructions): The congressman was primaried by a more conservative candidate</li><li>(used without object) U.S. Politics: to run as a candidate in a primary election</li></ul>