Primary - Definition

adj 1: of first rank or importance or value; direct and
immediate rather than secondary; "primary goals"; "a
primary effect"; "primary sources"; "a primary interest"
[ant: secondary]
2: not derived from or reducible to something else; basic; "a
primary instinct"
3: most important element; "the chief aim of living"; "the main
doors were of solid glass"; "the principal rivers of
America"; "the principal example"; "policemen were primary
targets"; "the master bedroom"; "a master switch" [syn:
chief(a), main(a), primary(a), principal(a),
master(a)]
4: of or being the essential or basic part; "an elementary need
for love and nurturing" [syn: elementary, elemental,
primary]
5: of primary importance [syn: basal, primary]
n 1: a preliminary election where delegates or nominees are
chosen [syn: primary, primary election]
2: one of the main flight feathers projecting along the outer
edge of a bird's wing [syn: primary, primary feather,
primary quill]
3: (astronomy) a celestial body (especially a star) relative to
other objects in orbit around it
4: coil forming the part of an electrical circuit such that
changing current in it induces a current in a neighboring
circuit; "current through the primary coil induces current in
the secondary coil" [syn: primary coil, primary winding,
primary]