[ˈprʌɪm(ə)ri], (Adjective)

Definitions:
- of chief importance; principal
(e.g: the government's primary aim is to see significant reductions in unemployment)

- earliest in time or order
(e.g: the primary stage of their political education)

- not derived from, caused by, or based on anything else; original
(e.g: his expert handling of the primary and secondary literature is clear on every page)

- (of an organic compound) having its functional group located on a carbon atom which is bonded to no more than one other carbon atom
(e.g: a primary alcohol)

- denoting or relating to organisms that produce organic compounds from simple substances such as water and carbon dioxide, typically by photosynthesis
(e.g: the organic matter is formed by primary producers such as plants and plankton)

- relating to or denoting the input side of a transformer or other inductive device



Phrases:

Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘original, not derivative’): from Latin primarius, from primus ‘first’. The noun uses date from the 18th century

[ˈprʌɪm(ə)ri], (Noun)

Definitions:
- (in the US) a preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal, especially presidential, election
(e.g: these two Republicans should win their primaries easily)

- a primary colour

- the Palaeozoic era


Phrases:

Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘original, not derivative’): from Latin primarius, from primus ‘first’. The noun uses date from the 18th century

[ˈprʌɪm(ə)ri], (Verb)

Definitions:
- (in the US) run against (the current holder of a political office) in the preliminary election a party uses to select its candidate for the main election
(e.g: I'm not primarying the president, and no one else should either unless we want to lose the White House)


Phrases:

Origin:
late Middle English (in the sense ‘original, not derivative’): from Latin primarius, from primus ‘first’. The noun uses date from the 18th century