1
[ADJ 形容词]首要的；主要的 You use
primary to describe something that is very important.
That's the primary reason the company's share price has held up so well...
这是公司股票价格一直居高不下的主要原因。
I don't think young people's primary aim in life is to get drunk...
我觉得年轻人生活的主要目标并不是一醉方休。
His misunderstanding of language was the primary cause of his other problems...
他对语言的误解是引起其他问题的主要原因。
The family continues to be the primary source of care and comfort for people as they grow older.
随着年龄的增长，家庭仍然是人们获得关爱和安慰的主要源泉。
2
[ADJ 形容词]（教育）初级的，初等的，小学的 Primary education is given to pupils between the ages of 5 and 11.
Britain did not introduce compulsory primary education until 1880...
直到1880年，英国才开始实行初等义务教育。
Ninety-nine per cent of primary pupils now have hands-on experience of computers.
现在，99%的小学生都亲手操作过电脑。
...primary teachers.
小学教师
in AM, use 美国英语用 elementary
3
[ADJ 形容词]首先的；最早的；最初的 Primary is used to describe something that occurs first.
It is not the primary tumour that kills, but secondary growths elsewhere in the body...
原发性肿瘤并不会置人于死地，致命的是身体其他部位的继发肿瘤。
They have been barred from primary bidding for clients.
他们被禁止对客户进行最初的投标。
4
[N-COUNT 可数名词]（美国）初选，预选 A
primary or a
primary election is an election in an American state in which people vote for someone to become a candidate for a political office.
...the 1968 New Hampshire primary...
1968年新罕布什尔州的初选
She won the Democratic primary...
她在民主党的初选中获胜。
New York holds its primary election on Tuesday.
纽约州将在星期二举行预选。